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More than 500 delegates to gather in Edinburgh

Scotland will host a major international conference next year to look at new ways to reduce alcohol-related harm.

The Global Alcohol Policy Conference (GAPC) will be held in Edinburgh in October 2015, and will attract more than 500 delegates from around the globe, with speakers from Europe, Asia, the USA, New Zealand and South Africa. The event will be co-hosted by the The Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA) and Alcohol Focus Scotland, and supported by Scottish Government.

On selecting Scotland as the venue, the GAPA board highlighted the initiative and courage shown by Scotland in pursuing minimum unit pricing as an effective policy to tackle alcohol misuse.

The event will focus on trying to build research and advocacy capacity in those parts of the world where alcohol harm is increasing and where regulatory policies are limited. Delegates will aim to strengthen collaboration, networking and the mobilisation of academics and policy makers to create a global movement on alcohol policy free from the influence of commercial interests. 

Previous GAPC conferences have been held in Seoul, South Korea ((2013) and Nonthaburi, Thailand (2011).

The Scottish Government has a package of more than 40 measures it is taking to reduce excessive alcohol consumption. It is committed to introducing a 50p minimum unit price for alcohol sales. 

Minister for Public Health, Maureen Watt, said:

“Scotland has an excellent reputation for taking decisive and bold action to reduce the harm that excessive alcohol consumption can cause. It is testament to our ambitious alcohol strategies that the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance have chosen to host the 2015 conference in Edinburgh.

“The Scottish Government is proud to be supporting GAPC 2015 and I look forward to sharing our experiences with advocates from around the world”

Dr Evelyn Gillan, Chief Executive, Alcohol Focus Scotland said:

"Across the world, alcohol causes so much damage to people’s health, to the lives of their families, and to the communities we live in. Harmful use of alcohol causes around 3.3 million deaths every year.

"I would like to extend a warm invitation to researchers, Non-Governmental Organisations, policymakers, and health professionals to join us at GAPC 2015 in Edinburgh. The conference offers a unique opportunity to share knowledge and inspire each other to advocate for the policies that will work to reduce the significant harm that alcohol causes in our countries.”

Background

• The Global Alcohol Policy Alliance is a network of non-governmental organisations and people working in public health agencies who share information on alcohol issues and advocate evidence-based alcohol policies, “free from commercial interests.”
• Resource centres affiliated to GAPA operate in Africa, European Union, South America, South East Asia, USA and Western Pacific regions.
• The conference will be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre from October 7 to 9 2015.
• Conference information is available at www.gapc2015.com 
• This week Scotland became the first country in the UK to introduce a new drink drive limit - 50mg in every 100ml of blood compared to 80mg in the rest of the UK.