Evidence and alcohol policy: lessons from the Italian case

Abstract

During the 1970s, the total alcohol consumption model (TCM) and the public health approach it inspired shifted the focus of control policies from individuals to the entire population. From the late 1990s, sociological studies challenged TCM and indicated the advantages of the harm-reduction approach, which distinguishes between low- and high-risk patterns of use, and suggested the adoption of a drinking patterns paradigm, focussing on the relationship between type, ways and contexts of drinking and alcohol-related problems. TCM nonetheless remains influential in international discussions of alcohol policy, and sociological studies are largely ignored by the most influential stakeholders in the field. Using Italy as an international comparative case study, the paper challenges the universal application of the public health approach in alcohol policy. It offers insights into support for the drinking patterns paradigm and argues for an increased contribution from the social sciences to understanding and addressing the alcohol issue.

Keywords:

• Italian drinking culture
• total consumption model
• public health
• drinking patterns paradigm
• alcohol policies

Notes on the contributor

Franca Beccaria is a sociologist and partner in Eclectica, a research institute in Torino, Italy, and contract professor at the EMDAS, European Masters on Drug and Alcohol Studies, at the Avogadro University, Novara, and at the University of Torino, Italy. Her main research interests are alcohol and culture, drinking styles, prevention and the sociology of health. Her recent publications include an edited book, Alcohol and generation: Changes in style and changing styles in Italy and Finland (Carocci, 2010), and Alcol e giovani: Riflettere prima dell'uso [Alcohol and youth: Think before use] (Giunti Editore, 2013).