What does alcohol do to your region and what can you do about it?

Alcohol has been estimated to cost Europe 125 billion € per year in total tangible costs. That is the figure that emerges if we calculate the burden on our health and social services, on our police and judicial systems, in lost working hours, in accidents and damage to property. Many of our regions are facing the frightening reality of our young people drinking very large amounts of alcohol at a very early age.

It is our role as regional politicians to fully appreciate the harm that alcohol can have on our citizens, our societies and our economies. For many of us alcohol is an accompaniment to social events and, when consumed in low doses, not harmful. But we cannot ignore the damage that alcohol can cause.

Regional representatives met in Barcelona on 11-12 May 2010 for this AER conference, kindly hosted by the Department of Health of the Government of Catalunya (E). The Conference aimed at learning about the negative impact of alcohol and about the policies and actions you can take to prevent.

The AER Social Policy and Public Health Committee (2) held its Spring plenary meeting in connection with this conference. This was an occasion for the regions to present their latest activities, projects and to learn what other regions are doing.