Written by: Margaret Whitehead, Sue Povall, Belinda Loring

This guidance aims to support European policy-makers to improve the design and implementation of policies to reduce inequities in health. It brings together current evidence on how to develop comprehensive policy action plans to identify and address social determinants of health inequities. While great improvements have been made in health across the WHO European Region, there are still striking contrasts in the standards of health enjoyed by different countries within the Region and by different population groups within these countries. Reducing health inequities and improving governance for health and health equity are key strategic objectives 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 also provides a framework that policy-makers at national, regional and local levels can apply to their own unique context, in order to consider the processes by which inequities might occur, and to suggest policy interventions that may be helpful in addressing these factors.

Editeb by: David V. McQueen (IUHPE), Matthias Wismar (European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies), Vivian Lin (La Trobe University), Catherine M. Jones (International Union for Health Promotion and Education), Maggie Davies (Health Action Partnership International)

The recent Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health (WHO, 2011), adopted during the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health in October 2011, continues to highlight the importance of the work of global institutions to address HiAP, social determinants of health and governance. This book, produced by the WHO - Regional Office for Europe on behalf of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in particular echoes and supports themes of the upcoming WHO health policy for Europe, the European Health 2020 policy framework, underscoring the importance of SDoH, HiAP and intersectoral governance (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2012). These policy developments set the background for the issues to be addressed in this book.

Authors: EMCDDA/Robert West

A better understanding of the complex science of ‘addiction’ can improve responses to drug problems. This report contains a critical review of existing addiction theories and explores how these can be organised into an overarching structure to inform how we assess, prevent and treat addictive behaviours. This model is not limited to illicit drugs, but can also be applied to alcohol, tobacco and even non-pharmacological addictions, such as gambling or compulsive use of the Internet.

Models of addiction delivers the message that understanding the biological basis of addiction, along with the broader social and psychological aspects of addictive behaviour, can lead to successful prevention and treatment responses.

Author: Robin Room (Stockholm University, University of Melbourne and Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre)

Article by Professor Robin Room from the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre (Australia) in response to the publication "An international legal strategy for alcohol control: not a framework convention—at least not yet" by authors Allyn L. Taylor and Ibadat S. Dhillon.

Author: Eleanor Winpenny, Sunil Patil, Marc Elliott, Lidia Villalba van Dijk, Saba Hinrichs, Theresa Marteau and Ellen Nolte (Rand Europe)

Evidence strongly suggests that alcohol advertising will increase the likelihood that adolescents will start to drink alcohol at a young age and may increase alcohol use among those who already consume alcohol.
It is against this background that the European Commission Health and Consumer Directorate-General (DG SANCO), by way of the EAHC, commissioned RAND Europe to carry out an assessment of young people’s exposure to alcohol marketing through television and online media. The overall aim of the work presented in this report was to use novel approaches to measure alcohol advertisement exposure among young people in Europe through audiovisual and online media.