Effects of Alcoholic Beverage Control Policies and Contextual Factors on Alcohol Consumption and its Related Harms in France From 1960 to 2000

Abstract

Important social changes such as urbanization, increases in female education and employment, and increased incomes have occurred in France from 1960 to 2000 along with a major decrease in alcoholic beverage consumption (from 25 L pure alcohol per inhabitant 15 years and old to 13 L); especially due to wine consumption decrease. These changes in drinking patterns are associated with significant decreases in alcohol consumption-related harms (liver disease mortality and transport accident mortality). Several alcoholic beverage consumption control policy measures were also created during this period. This study explores the impact of these policies measure on alcohol consumption and alcohol consumption-related harms, adjusted with selected social changes. France's control policy has been associated, partially, with regressive effects on alcohol consumption but not on alcohol consumption-related harms. Study limitations are noted.

Keywords :

• historical background and changes in consumption
• drinking patterns and harm from 1960 to 2000

THE AUTHORS

Chloé Cogordan, MSc in applied mathematics on social sciences, with demographic and public health specialties. She is a research analyst with statistic specifications at the life's customs department of the scientific direction of INPES (National Institute for Prevention and Health Education) in Saint-Denis, France. She mainly works on alcohol issues.

Dr. Carmen Kreft-Jaïs, MD, was special advisor to scientific director of INPES (National Institute for Prevention and Health Education) in Saint-Denis, France, with a particular interest in alcohol and pregnancy, alcohol in women of childbearing potential, nontransmissible chronic diseases, and Alzheimer's disease. She is a senior consultant in Clinical Pharmacology, department of Pharmacology at the European Hospital Georges Pompidou in Paris. Previously, she was the Director of a Regional Pharmacovigilance Center in Paris and Head of the Pharmacovigilance Department at AFSSAPS (French Medicines Agency). Dr Kreft-Jaïs participated as the French delegate at the European Pharmacovigilance Working Party and at the WHO collaborating Centres.

Juliette Guillemont, MSc in Nutrition and also studied epidemiology. She was Head of studies at the scientific direction of INPES (National Institute for Prevention and Health Education) in Saint-Denis, France. Her main works have dealt with the evaluation of health promotion interventions, with a particular interest in nutrition, alcohol, and parenting issues. She is now working as a project manager within a research team dedicated to Aging and Alzheimer's disease at INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) in Toulouse, France.

Notes

2 The reader is asked to consider that with the advent of artificial science and its theoretical underpinnings (chaos, complexity, and uncertainty theories), it is now posited that much of human behavior is complex, dynamic, multidimensional, level/phase structured, nonlinear, lawdriven, and bounded (culture, time, place, age, gender, ethnicity, etc.). “Control,” however, it is defined and delineated, and with whatever formal as well as informal policies, would be such a process. There are a number of important issues to consider and which are derived from this: (1) Using linear models/tools to study nonlinear processes/phenomena can and does result in misleading conclusions and can therefore also result in inappropriate intervention; (2) the concepts prediction and control have different meanings and dimensions than they do in the more traditional linear “cause and effect” paradigms; (3) uncertainty, unpredictability and the lack of real control, and not just attempts at influencing, are the dimensions of reality. (Buscema, M. (1998), Artificial Neural Networks, Substance Use & Misuse, 33(1–3); Ormerod, Paul, (2005) Why most things fail: Evolution, extinction and economics. Faber & Faber, UK; Miller, Matt, (2010)The tyranny of dead ideas; New York: Henry Holt & Co. Editor's note.

3 This relatively new term, introduced into the intervention literature, by Friedman et al. (Samuel R. Friedman, Diana Rossi, Peter L. Flom. (2006). “Big events” and networks: Thoughts on what could be going on. Connections 27(1): 9–14.) refers to major events such as mega-disasters, natural, as well as man-made, famine, conflict, genocide, disparities in health, epidemics, mass migrations, economic recessions, etc. which effect adaptation, functioning and quality-of-life of individuals as well as systems. Existential threat, instability, and chaos are major dimensions and loss of control over one's life is experienced. Editor's note.