Developing effective alcohol legislation

The purpose of the legislation guide is to assist government agencies and ministries in developing country-level legislation to implement, monitor and enforce effective alcohol policies.

The guide provides advice on approaches to alcohol regulation to support development of effective legislation appropriate to each country. It provides practical advice based on international experience about the implications of legislative options, steps to be taken to implement legislation and best practice on how to enforce legislation and support compliance.

The authors do not attempt to draft standard legislative provisions for all countries as requirements will differ, perhaps considerably, based on local circumstances and existing regulatory frameworks. Instead, the guide draws on alcohol legislation in a range of countries to formulate suggestions for possible legislative wording. The examples are drawn from the Western Pacific region, but would be valuable for readers also in other parts of the world.

The policy options covered are taxation and pricing, regulating the sale of alcohol to the public, minimum age restrictions, alcohol marketing and drink driving.

Order or download the guide from the WHO WPRO web site:

Addressing the harmful use of alcohol - a guide to developing effective alcohol regulation (pdf) from this WHO WPRO web page.