Authors: Caitlin Hughes and Alex Stevens

Two observers and scholars of the 2001 Portuguese drug policy reform consider divergent accounts of the reform which viewed it as a ‘resounding success’ or a ‘disastrous failure’. Acknowledging from their own experience the inherent difficulties in studying drug law reform, Caitlin Hughes and Alex Stevens take the central competing claims of the protagonists and consider them against the available data.They remind us of the way all sides of the drug policy debates call upon and alternatively use or misuse ‘evidence’ to feed into discussions of the worth, efficacy and desirability of different illicit drug policies.In doing so they provide pause for thought for those of us who operate as drug policy researchers and drug policy advocates.

Authors: Susanne Uusitalo (University of Turku), Mikko Salmela (University of Helsinki) and Janne Nikkinen (University of Helsinki)

Susanne Uusitalo, Mikko Salmela and Janne Nikkinen provide a philosophical critique of the disease concept addiction and its influential rival, the rational choice model. Instead they propose what they call an ‘affective choice model’ as an alternative to both.

Written by: Belinda Loring

This policy guidance aims to support European policy-makers to improve the design and implementation of policies to reduce inequities in alcohol-related harm. The WHO European Region has the highest level of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm in the world. Within European countries, the burden of alcohol-related harm falls more heavily upon certain groups. Reducing health inequities is a key strategic objective of Health 2020 – the European policy framework for health and well-being endorsed by the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region in 2012. This guide seeks to assist European policy-makers in contributing to achieving the objectives of Health 2020 in a practical way. It draws on key evidence, including from the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Review of social determinants and the health divide in the WHO European Region. It sets out practical options to reduce the level and unequal distribution of alcohol-related harm in Europe, through approaches that address the social determinants of alcohol misuse and the related health, social and economic consequences.

Authors: Jürgen Rehm, Kevin D. Shield, Maximilien X. Rehm, Gerrit Gmel and Ulrich Frick (CAMH)

This report provides a timely and comprehensive review of the relationship between alcohol consumption and harm in Europe. While European alcohol strategies have typically focused on reducing alcohol misuse through controls on availability, marketing and price, and drunk‐driving countermeasures, this report highlights the considerable potential to reduce alcohol‐related harm through wider implementation of individually directed interventions for people with alcohol dependence. There is now a considerable evidence base which supports the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of brief interventions, and a range of specialist treatment for people with alcohol use disorders. However, this report highlights the current gap between evidence and practice. Less than 10% of people with alcohol dependence receive treatment in Europe; and yet alcohol dependence accounts for a substantial proportion of all harm associated with alcohol.