Experts throughout the world are urging doctors to lead the war against the abuse of alcohol, according to a recent article in US News. A recent statement from the United Nations Summit in NYC says there is an obvious lack of international action to try to correct the seriousness of the problem we are all facing globally.
Excessive alcohol abuse has become the third leading cause of diseases that are premature and preventable. The problem is globally affecting more than 70 million people. There is a vital need to pressure governments to recognize the problem and then adopt and put into place the necessary health policies. However, the conflict from government drives policies whereas commercial and/or social government powers slow up the progress of national and international policy making.
There are interventions that have been cost-effective and proven to work but support for these types of policies is not politically attractive to most. The study pointed out that doctors are in the unique position to talk about this problem in their daily practices. Doctors’ voices are a valued and trusted resource within our communities and societies. Sir Ian Gilmore, at the Royal College of Physicians in London, England points out that we call on our doctors for valuable leadership by holding health experts accountable for their lack of effort in tackling this problem with all the evidence we have.
The conclusion from the study was that we could combat the abuse of alcohol if we implement effective policies to help improve the health of our worldwide populations.
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