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Drinking, Aging, and Global Public Policy

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Alcohol and Aging

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Abstract

With the largest living generation transitioning into old age, and life spans increasing around the world, the global population is growing older. However, public policy measures to address harmful drinking, including in developed countries, rarely include attention to the specific needs of the elderly. For the elderly, drinking can be associated with an increased risk for harm but may also confer some benefits. These need to be weighed against each other in the crafting of policy measures. Any comprehensive policy approach must also take into account drinking patterns among the aging population, which appear to be diverging from those of past generations. There is an urgent need for the implementation of comprehensive, integrative public policies to address harmful drinking among the elderly in both national and international contexts. While public policy and regulation provide the framework to address harmful drinking, they are inadequate to address the specific demands of older people and other potentially “at-risk” groups. Therefore, regulation around alcohol should be supplemented with targeted interventions, including age-specific drinking guidelines, and screening and brief interventions, which are better able to address the particular needs of older drinkers.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It should be noted that at the time of the writing of this chapter, the UK Department of Health had just issued revised guidelines for alcohol consumption, but these were not yet reflected in guidelines issued by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, 1225 19th Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC, 20036, USA

    Marjana Martinic Ph.D. & Anna Sheveland Ph.D.

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  1. Marjana Martinic Ph.D.
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  2. Anna Sheveland Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Marjana Martinic Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College at the City University of New York, New York, New York, USA

    Alexis Kuerbis

  2. Division of Geriatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA

    Alison.A. Moore

  3. School of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

    Paul Sacco

  4. Department of Behavioral & Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

    Faika Zanjani

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Martinic, M., Sheveland, A. (2016). Drinking, Aging, and Global Public Policy. In: Kuerbis, A., Moore, A., Sacco, P., Zanjani, F. (eds) Alcohol and Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47233-1_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47233-1_16

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