National Institute for Public Policy on Alcohol and Other Drugs

Abstract

Alcohol is one of the main factors contributing to the worsening of global health. In Brazil, 25% of the Brazilian population drinks so as to endanger their health. Violence, high spending on health, abstentions at work, decreased productivity, family destruction, low school performance and traffic accidents associated with alcohol are some of the consequences of such consumption. The social and economic impact caused by the consumption of alcohol abuse reinforces its position as a major public health problem of the country. Policies directed to the control of alcohol in Brazil are fragmented and therefore ineffective. The widespread availability of alcohol in many points of distribution at affordable prices favors universal access to this substance. Brazil needs more global interventions in order to change the settings where alcohol is promoted, sold, and consumed. Community interventions can provide that. The UNIAD (Unit In Search Of Alcohol And Drugs - UNIFESP) actively participates in the academic, political and clinical settings of the country on issues related to policies of alcohol since 1994. Many scientific papers and books were published and the internet has become an excellent tool for the dissemination of specialized information. Epidemiological Research outlining the patterns of consumption of alcohol and the problems caused by this substance, the implementation and evaluation of intervention measures and research in Health Economics assessing the social and economic impact to allow the decision making in public policies were priorities of the UNIAD. This came true by the existence of a trained team of researchers coordinated by Prof. Ronaldo Laranjeira and by the collaboration of several national and international research centers. The advice to several instances of the government on the policies related to alcohol has also been an important part of our institution. Furthermore, our clinical, scientific and public policy cumulative experience allowed our performance in activities of education and job training. This will be the basis for the performance of the national public policies on alcohol and drugs: we hope contribute to the definition of policies to control the harmful use of alcohol and other drugs through a series of integrated and strategically coordinated actions. The precise quantification of the problem will be made by the 'lI Survey on Standards of Consumption of alcohol in the Brazilian population'. The studies involving Public Policy - 'Study of the effects of the law about the limited opening hours of the bars for prevention of problems related to alcohol: murders and violence against women', 'Research about the accessibility of alcohol to teenagers ' and 'Prevalence of drinking and driving in Sao Paulo (Brazil), Belo Horizonte (MG), Vitoria (ES), Santos (SP) and Diadema (SP) '- will enable the evaluation of the viability and importance of the implementation of community interventions, which are more cost-effective measures than treatment itself. The assessment of the economic impact of alcohol abuse through the study 'Health Economics: the economic impact of alcoholism' will subsidize the decision-making in terms of public policies directed to alcohol. The determination of the profile of behavior of the patients, their general needs and treatment, which will be held by the study 'Assessment of chemical dependent by the perspective of their families', will be crucial for the implementation of specific programmers of assistance. The training of professionals and training of critical mass in respect of alcohol and other drugs, with the spectrum of action extended by the vast scope permitted by the use of the Internet, will be priorities of the program 'Telemedicine and Dependence on Alcohol and other Drugs'. Finally, the interface with the government and to stimulate the public debate supported by quality scientific information, leading to social mobilization will allow the return of the benefits achieved to the society. (AU)