Opportunities for Alcohol Policy in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Both alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems are, it is claimed, rapidly increasing problems in Central and Eastern Europe, due to the transition period. The article presents some available data and discusses the problems in making conclusions from rather inaccurate statistics. The second objective is to discuss the opportunities for effective alcohol policies, and the relevance of the studies made in established market economies, such as the Anglo-American and Scandinavian countries. An important condition for a control policy, the author concludes, is the re-establishment of a basic regulation of the alcohol market, now missing in these countries. Otherwise any policy measures will be ineffective or even counterproductive. The process will probably be different in different countries, due to differences in the economic restructuring and recovery, and to differences between the “beer”, “wine”, and “vodka” cultures.