Drunk in China? The Imperative for Effective Interventions Against Alcohol Abuse

Bibliographic Data

ID21645907
AuthorsZhaohui Su (0000-0003-2005-9504, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China, corresponding author), B Bennett (0000-0002-0111-4670, Federation University), Ruijie Zhang (0000-0001-6861-5640, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, China), Jianlin Jiang (School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China), Yifan Liu (0000-0002-5466-4457, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China), Xin Yu (0000-0003-3983-4937, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing, China), Dean Mcdonnell (0000-0001-6043-8272, South East Technological University), Sabina Šegalo (0000-0002-9280-3278, University of Sarajevo), Jing‐Bao Nie (0000-0002-1570-2254, University of Otago, corresponding author), Jing-Bao Nie (Bioethics Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand), Claudimar Pereira Da Veiga (0000-0002-4960-5954, Fundação Dom Cabral – FDC, Nova Lima, Brazil, corresponding author), Yu-Tao Xiang (0000-0002-2906-0029, Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Public Health and Medicinal Administration, Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, & Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume59
Issue14
Pages2151-2155
Publication date2024-12-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSubstance Use & Misuse (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1082-6084 • E-ISSN: 1532-2491
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10826084.2024.2392542
PMID39287114
OpenAlexW4402568296
LanguageEN
References cited19

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use and abuse remain prevalent in China, though mounting evidence shows that even drinking in moderation is detrimental to health. While many countries' intake is on the decline, China's alcohol consumption is rising fast and is on the path to overtaking countries like the United States, even on a per capita level. OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to analyze the danger of lax enforcement of laws and regulations against alcohol use and abuse and underscores the imperative for effective health interventions to curb problematic alcohol consumption in China. RESULTS: Different from their Western counterparts, Chinese drinkers often consume more spirit with a high percentage of alcohol in social settings that encourage the "ganbei culture"-making toasts with alcohol filled to the brim and downed in one go to show respect-which perpetuates excessive drinking at a fast pace. Though the country has various laws and regulations in place to curb problematic alcohol consumption, like workplace drinking, their impacts are dismal. Considering that China has 1.4 billion people, the country's uncurbed alcohol consumption trend could have a detrimental effect on national strategic objectives like "Healthy China 2030" and international ones like the Sustainable Development Goals. To further compound the situation, prevalent campaigns promoted by liquor companies-like alcohol-infused coffee, chocolate, and ice cream-may groom young people to develop alcohol consumption habits, if not addictions, for generations to come. CONCLUSIONS: We developed the Framework of 5Vs of China's "Ganbei Culture to shed light on the issue, with the hope that it, along with the overarching insights of this paper, can assist health professionals and policymakers in better guarding and improving public health against the harms of alcohol use and abuse in China and beyond

Alcohol abuse · China · Criminology · Drunk driving · Environmental health · Poison control · Political science · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Suicide prevention · Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Smoking Behavior and Cessation · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes