People consistently value health as the most important condition for living a happy and fulfilled life. We all thrive when we live in resilient communities and healthy societies. And the coronavirus pandemic has reminded us just how important health and well-being really are.

But good health and well-being remain out of reach for many. Often the health of people, communities and societies is even getting worse, not better. A major reason is that alcohol harm is rising. In the last decade, alcohol’s contribution to the global burden of disease has risen, not declined. When the direct and indirect alcohol harms are combined, the total burden due to alcohol is nearly double that from tobacco. 

The biggest reason for growing alcohol harm is the alcohol industry. The products and practices of multinational alcohol companies are fuelling cancer and heart disease, violence and poverty, as well as social and environmental damage. Clearly, alcohol harm is a major obstacle to sustainable development. The alcohol industry, exactly like Big Tobacco, is deploying a range of strategies that put their own profits before people. Big Alcohol lobbies aggressively against any attempt to develop policy solutions that would protect people from alcohol harm. They interfere in our countries around the world, jeopardizing the health and well-being of billions of people.

We see the harm alcohol companies are causing in our communities every day. We also see in communities around the world that people want change. People want action to tackle alcohol harm as a health and development priority. 

It is time to protect people and communities from the predatory practices of alcohol companies, such as ultra-cheap and high-content alcohol products and alcohol marketing. It’s time to create healthier environments for all through common-sense limits on the presence of alcohol in our communities and societies. 

It is time for a decade of action for high-impact proven alcohol policy solutions.

It is time for full implementation of the new WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan and the SAFER technical package.

It is time for a global initiative to advance alcohol taxation.

It is time for ambitious investments in evidence-based prevention interventions in all relevant settings.

And it is time to develop a global binding treaty on alcohol.

A similar treaty in tobacco control has shown that it’s the best tool to regulate the harmful products and practices of the transnational alcohol companies, to protect people’s human right to health and development most effectively, and to ensure that our governments can collaborate globally on alcohol policy development.

Fully implementing existing, proven alcohol policy solutions will contribute to reaching good health and development for all. And the further improvement of the global alcohol policy response will ensure we make full use of the potential of alcohol policy to save lives, prevent harm, and build better societies for all.