Background -

Respondent's name:	Richard Muscat
Respondent's country:	Malta
Respondent's e-mail address:	No data entered
Respondent's telephone number:	No data entered
Respondent's fax number:	No data entered
Respondent's present work:	No data entered
Organisation, position, address (name and number of street, postal code, town):	Chairperson, National Commission on the Abuse of drugs, Alcohol and Dependencies. Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity. Palazzo Ferrreria Republic Street Valletta, Malta Telephone: 00356 25903386 e-mail: rmusc@biotech.um.edu.mt Website: www.msp.gov.mt
Organisation website:
Are you a government employee?
Professional qualifications:	No data entered
Number of years in employment in your professional area:	No data entered
Self-rating of expertise level in the area of alcohol control policy in your country (1 is slightly conversant, 10 is fully conversant): 4
Self-rating of expertise level in the area of the prevention of the harm done by alcohol in your country (1 is slightly conversant, 10 is fully conversant): 5
If you are answering for a jurisdictional region rather than as a country as a whole, which jurisdictional region is it?	No data entered
If this questionnaire was completed with the collaboration of other people, provide organisational reference(s) for each participant.
Provide organisational reference(s) for nation-wide and/or regional coalitions (task forces, action groups, collaborative bodies) in the arena of alcohol control policy.
Other background information:	Population size of the country/region: 399,867

Politics, policies and priorities -

Do relevant politicians/policy makers refer to alcohol control policy in a manner that suggests it is a priority area?

Yes, not documented

Do relevant politicians/policy makers refer to the prevention of the harm done by alcohol in a manner that suggests it is a priority area?

Yes, not documented

In your opinion, taking into account everything you know, what level of real priority does the present government place on alcohol control policy? (1 is low priority, mostly rhetoric; 10 is high priority, much action)

6

In your opinion, taking into account everything you know, what level of real priority does the present government place on the prevention of the harm done by alcohol? (1 is low priority, mostly rhetoric; 10 is high priority, much action)

6

What is the recent trend (past several years) in resource allocation to alcohol control policy and programmes to prevent the harm done by alcohol?

Small decrease in resources

What was the amount of funds allocated to alcohol control policy and programmes to prevent the harm done by alcohol in the most recent national budget (Euro):	No data entered
Budget year:	No data entered

National level, governmental policy documents on alcohol policy and on preventing the harm done by alcohol been published in the following areas:

Drinking and driving. Packaging and labelling of alcohol products. Taxation of alcohol products. Illicit trade in alcohol products. Travellers' allowances within the EU. Availability of alcohol, including licensing. Sales to minors. Alcohol advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

Regional level, governmental policy documents on alcohol policy and on preventing the harm done by alcohol have been published in the following areas:

Non-governmental (private enterprise, research institute, NGO, etc.) policy documents on alcohol control policy and programmes to prevent the harm done by alcohol have been published in the following areas:

Name up to five of the most senior government officials with responsibility to oversee/manage alcohol control policy and the prevention of the harm done by alcohol. Organisational references: Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry of Education Ministry of Health the Elderly and Community Care

Evaluation -

Are national alcohol control policy and programmes to prevent the harm done by alcohol policies evaluated and reported?

No

Monitoring and/or surveillance -

Are national alcohol policy monitoring and/or surveillance activities published?

No

Knowledge development -

Provide organisational reference(s) for the principal bodies (e.g. academic bodies, public health laboratories, agencies, government units) that are involved in developing the knowledge base for alcohol control and prevention policies. Organisational references: Caritas Malta Dept. of Education Dept. of Health Promotion Health Information Department Malta Police Force MCAST - Malta College of adrts, science and Technology Oasi Foundation- Drug and Alcohol Agency - Gozo Sedqa - National Agency for Drugs and Alcohol University of Malta

Implementation -

Provide organisational references for the principal bodies (main providers) that are involved in implementing intervention programmes and other actions for alcohol control policy. Organisational references: Caritas Malta Dept. of Health Promotion Malta Police Force Oasi Foundation- Drug and Alcohol Agency - Gozo Policy Implementation Unit - Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity Sedqa - National Agency for Drugs and Alcohol

Information dissemination -

Provide organisational references for the principal bodies that are involved in information dissemination and other actions to keep health care professionals informed about managing hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence. Organisational references: Caritas Malta Dept. Health information Dept. of Health Promotion Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity Oasi Foundation- Drug and Alcohol Agency - Gozo Sedqa - National Agency for Drugs and Alcohol

Programmes -

How available are programmes for preventing the harm done by alcohol? Provide document reference(s) for some of the key programmes that exemplify high quality. (1 is not available; 5 is widely available)
Public education through mass media	2
Comprehensive community based	2
Home/family	2
School	5
College	2
University	1
Work place	3
Primary health care	2
Hospital/clinic	1
Internet	1
Social welfare and youth services	2
Custodial settings (prisons, probation, etc.)	1
Other:

Professional workforce -

Is higher education in alcohol control policy and/or the prevention of the harm done by alcohol available from at least one institution of higher education? No

Funding -

Are funds dedicated to alcohol control policy and programmes to prevent the harm done by alcohol clearly identifiable in the most recent national budget?

No

The arena/activities are indicated for which earmarked funds are provided:

Are funds dedicated to alcohol control policy and/or programmes to prevent the harm done by alcohol clearly identifiable in the budgets of non-governmental institutions (foundations, private institutes, welfare societies, professional groups, etc, associations)?

No

The arena/activities are indicated for which earmarked funds are provided:

Personal evaluation of the state of the field -

List up to five key recent advances in your country related to alcohol control policy:

- 1991 – ACT XII – Broadcasting Act - 1997 – Traffic Regulation Act - 1998 – Act no 6 of 1998 amending Traffic regulation Act ch 65 which introduced a BAC limit of 80-mgs/ decilitre of blood and breathalyser test - Taxation – yearly tax increases on alcohol products. Especially the introduction in 2002 of progressive taxation with regard to alcohol content (i.e. the heavier the alcohol content, the heavier the burden of tax) - No data entered

List up to five key recent advances in your country related to the prevention of the harm done by alcohol:

- 1995 – alcohol prevention programmes in primary and secondary schools (sedqa) 1995 – alcohol prevention programmes within the media sector (sedqa) 1995 – the establishment of sedqa’s alcohol services in 1995 and subsequent developments. - 1996 – alcohol prevention programmes within the community (egg NGO’s Youth Organisations and Local Councils - 1997 – alcohol prevention programmes in the community (sedqa) - 2002 – Occupational health and Safety Authority Act 2000 (came into effect 2002). It does not specifically mention alcohol use /misuse but places onus on employer to provide safe work environment. 2002 – the aforementioned taxation regimen introduced in 2002 - 2002 – legal notice 102 - the clarification that the law regulating the sale of alcohol to under 16’s applies to all outlets i.e. also to supermarkets/grocers and not just bars/restaurants as previously interpreted. However it is improtant to point out that this same LN only applies to premises licensed from 2002 onwards. Premises open prior to 2002, unless asking for a conversion of the police license as indicated in LN 102 are not breaching the law if they sell alcohol to minors.

List up to five key barriers/obstacles/issues that stand in the way of achieving, in your country, action on alcohol control policy:

- • Lack of National Alcohol Policy - policy still at formulation stage (2002 – sedqa and Health Promotion Unit) • Legislation is piecemeal and not co-ordinated within the framework of a National Alcohol Policy - • Lack of scientific evaluation of strategies and interventions to build a case for policy control - • Mediterranean culture – high intake level (population survery, 2001) even among young people (ESPAD, 1995, 1999, 2003) – daily intake of alcohol, especially wine with meals. Alcohol may be regarded as an embedded and central aspect of Maltese - • Economic motives and interests – alcoholic beverages need to be recognised as commodities that must be exempt from the norms of free market competition and instead be subject to a set of distinct commercial principles based upon health and social policy considerations. • A rather strong alcohol producers lobby • There are strong considerations relating to the tourist industry. • Disagreements between interest groups (e.g. health /prevention on the one hand and alcohol industry on the other) on the aims and strategies of an eventual policy). - • Difficulties in terms of enforcement. • Alcohol prevention appears to be rather low on Government priority list.

List up to five key barriers/obstacles/issues that stand in the way of achieving, in your country, action on the prevention of the harm done by alcohol:

- • Limited resources/ lack of financial backing. - • Accountability – lack of clarity regarding whose remit alcohol prevention is resulting in sporadic and piecemeal efforts and lack of evaluation and consequently evidence-based practices. - • Leisure and alcohol consumption intrinsically linked, with commercial venues (bars, restaurants and clubs) being the primary entertainment providers for young people. - • Lack of non-formal education and youth work for young people to provide opportunities for leisure pursuits that are not associated with alcohol consumption. - • Some prevention practices may not be acceptable to staff, clients or the community at large. • Training issues – no formal preparation for alcohol prevention practitioners.

List, in descending order of importance, up to five key advances that are needed to support implementation of evidence-based alcohol control policy in your country:

- • The formulation and adoption of a National Alcohol Policy - • Consideration of cultural, social and economic conditions particular to the Maltese context. - • Consultation during the process of formulation of policies by those who are to be affected by the implementation of such policies. - • More committed enforcement e.g. although there is law regarding drunk driving more breathaliser tests need to be caried out on Maltese roads. - • Research evaluating the effectiveness of implemented policies and dissemination of results.

List, in descending order of importance, up to five key changes that are needed in your country, to achieve the advances above:

- • Acknowledgement of the value of research in the area of alcohol control policy in order to develop policies that are evidence based. - • Funding to support continuous research on the effectiveness and consequences of alcohol control policy. - • A shift from an interest in economic motives to public health and social policy issues. - • More dialogue between interested parties and involvement of the latter in the formulation of policy. - • An acknowledgement of the cultural acceptance of alcohol in Malta and a consequent recognition that policies need to be tailor-made for the Maltese cultural context and not simply ‘adopted’ from other European countries.

List, in descending order of importance, up to five key advances that are needed to support implementation of evidence-based the prevention of the harm done by alcohol in your country:

- • Define clearly what evidence based practice in prevention is and highlight how much evidence is needed • Develop a network for the dissemination of research on prevention. - • Develop guidelines for the credibility of research. - • Plan to examine outcome measures or indicators as part of the process of evaluating and adopting new prevention programmes. This discussion needs to be built in from the beginning. - • An increase in financial resources. - • Greater awareness of the need for policy.

List, in descending order of importance, up to five key changes that are needed in your country, to achieve the advances above:

- • More funds need to be allocated to the area of prevention of harm by alcohol. - • Implementing evidence based prevention requires readiness to change by those already involved in prevention, which needs to be assessed: motivational readiness, institutional resources, staff attributes and organisational climate. - • A greater level of coordination of the various interest groups and social. - No data entered - No data entered

List up to ten persons who you believe are important for action on alcohol control policy and the prevention of the harm done by alcohol in your country. Organisational references: Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs Ministry for the Family and Social Solidarity Ministry for Tourism and Culture Minstry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care Ministry for Gozo Ministry of Education National Commission on the Abuse of Drugs Alcohol and Other Dependencies - inistry for the Family and Social Solidarity