Impacts of international trade, services and investment treaties on alcohol regulation

There is an underlying incompatibility between government efforts to minimi ze the harm associated with alcohol, particularly by regulating its supply, and international commercial treaties that promote the freer ? ow of goods , services and investment. These treaties have already forced changes to ma ny government measures affecting alcohol availability and control, primaril y by constraining the activities of government alcohol monopolies and by al tering taxation regimes. The North American Free Trade Agreement and the Wo rld Trade Organization agreements open new avenues for challenges against a lcohol control measures. Some of these agreements extend beyond trade, bord er measures and differential taxation and allow challenges that intrude int o areas of non-discriminatory domestic regulation affecting market access, intellectual property, investment and services. Effective protection from t hese agreements for vital public health measures has rarely been obtained, although it is increasingly essential. The WTO "services" agreement, basica lly unknown to the public, is currently being re-negotiated and poses the g ravest new challenge to policies designed to influence patterns of alcohol use and minimize alcohol-related harm. In future, these international agree ments will probably affect adversely those alcohol approaches considered to be the most effective or promising. These include: maintaining effective s tate monopolies, restricting the number and locations of retail outlets, ta xing and regulating beverages according to alcohol strength, restricting co mmercial advertising, and maintaining and enhancing public alcohol educatio n and treatment programs. These effects can, in turn, be expected to increa se the availability and access to alcohol, to lower alcohol taxes, and to i ncrease advertising and promotion, resulting in increased alcohol consumpti on and associated health problems. Until more balanced international rules are developed, the challenge facing alcohol policy researchers is to defend national and local alcohol measures from further erosion. This will requir e greater coordination with researchers in other affected sectors, interven tion with government representatives in health and related areas and the pr omotion of alternative approaches to current international commercial agree ments.