Dirk W Lachenmeier1, Maria Neufeld2,3,4, Jürgen Rehm3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. 1. Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt (CVUA) Karlsruhe, Weissenburger Strasse 3, 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany. 2. World Health Organization European Office for Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, Moscow, Russian Federation. 3. Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 4. Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy & Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Longitudinal Studies (CELOS), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. 5. Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 6. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 7. Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 8. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 9. Centre for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. 10. Department of International Health Projects, Institute for Leadership and Health Management, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: About 25% of global alcohol consumption is unrecorded, that is, concerns alcohol not registered in the country where it is consumed. Unrecorded alcohol includes homemade, illicit, or surrogate alcohols. The aim of this review is to update the evidence on unrecorded alcohol and its impact on health. METHOD: A narrative review and qualitative synthesis of scientific literature (English and Russian) for the period 2016-2020 was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 100 articles were included in the synthesis. The most harm because of unrecorded alcohol seems to be caused by ethanol, although single and mass methanol poisonings constitute exceptions. Nevertheless, unrecorded consumption is associated with disproportionate harm that goes beyond toxicity, which is linked to hazardous drinking patterns of unrecorded alcohol, and its association with alcohol use disorders and social marginalization. The online sale of unrecorded alcohol, which circumvents alcohol availability regulations, is an emerging and not yet well-explored issue. CONCLUSIONS: Policy options include restricting access to methanol, increasing taxation, denaturing ethanol-containing liquids that could be used as surrogates, introducing more effective and less toxic denaturizing additives, and improving monitoring systems for fraud, tax evasion, and local sales restrictions, including raising the minimum legal drinking age. These measures should be implemented within a holistic policy framework to avoid unintended effects, such as an increase in total alcohol consumption, shifts from certain types of unrecorded products to potentially toxic alternatives, or limiting economic activity and jeopardizing the livelihoods of vulnerable populations (e.g., women comprise the majority of those making homebrew in some countries).
OBJECTIVE: About 25% of global alcohol consumption is unrecorded, that is, concerns alcohol not registered in the country where it is consumed. Unrecorded alcohol includes homemade, illicit, or surrogate alcohols. The aim of this review is to update the evidence on unrecorded alcohol and its impact on health. METHOD: A narrative review and qualitative synthesis of scientific literature (English and Russian) for the period 2016-2020 was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 100 articles were included in the synthesis. The most harm because of unrecorded alcohol seems to be caused by ethanol, although single and mass methanol poisonings constitute exceptions. Nevertheless, unrecorded consumption is associated with disproportionate harm that goes beyond toxicity, which is linked to hazardous drinking patterns of unrecorded alcohol, and its association with alcohol use disorders and social marginalization. The online sale of unrecorded alcohol, which circumvents alcohol availability regulations, is an emerging and not yet well-explored issue. CONCLUSIONS: Policy options include restricting access to methanol, increasing taxation, denaturing ethanol-containing liquids that could be used as surrogates, introducing more effective and less toxic denaturizing additives, and improving monitoring systems for fraud, tax evasion, and local sales restrictions, including raising the minimum legal drinking age. These measures should be implemented within a holistic policy framework to avoid unintended effects, such as an increase in total alcohol consumption, shifts from certain types of unrecorded products to potentially toxic alternatives, or limiting economic activity and jeopardizing the livelihoods of vulnerable populations (e.g., women comprise the majority of those making homebrew in some countries).
Authors: Jürgen Rehm; Maria Neufeld; Robin Room; Bundit Sornpaisarn; Mindaugas Štelemėkas; Monica H Swahn; Dirk W Lachenmeier Journal: Int J Drug Policy Date: 2021-08-27
Authors: Charlotte Probst; Jakob Manthey; Carina Ferreira-Borges; Maria Neufeld; Ivo Rakovac; Diana Andreasyan; Lela Sturua; Irina Novik; Gahraman Hagverdiyev; Galina Obreja; Nurila Altymysheva; Muhammet Ergeshov; Shukhrat Shukrov; Safar Saifuddinov; Jürgen Rehm Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2021-12-15 Impact factor: 2.692