Abstract
Alcohol use disorders (AUDs)—a spectrum including at-risk drinking, alcohol abuse, dependence, and addiction—is a highly prevalent problem worldwide with a substantial economic impact. The toll of alcohol on individual health and healthcare systems is devastating. Alcohol is estimated to be the fifth leading risk factor for global disability-adjusted life years. Tackling the problem of AUD requires a comprehensive strategy that includes solid action on price, availability, and marketing of alcohol. Restricting or banning alcohol advertising may reduce exposure to the risk posed by alcohol at the individual and general population level. Warning labels about the cancer risks associated with drinking have a high degree of public support and may be an inexpensive and acceptable way to educate the public. Religiosity may reduce risk behaviors and contribute to health decision making related to alcohol use.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-hamdani, M. (2014). The case for stringent alcohol warning labels: Lessons from the tobacco control experience. Journal of Public Health Policy,35(1), 65–74.
Anderson, P., de Bruijn, A., Angus, K., Gordon, R., & Hastings, G. (2009). Impact of alcohol advertising and media exposure on adolescent alcohol use: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Alcohol and Alcoholism,44, 229–243.
Badr, L. K., Taha, A., & Dee, V. (2014). Substance abuse in Middle Eastern adolescents living in two different countries: Spiritual, cultural, family and personal factors. Journal of Religion and Health,53(4), 1060–1074.
Baron-Epel, O., Bord, S., Elias, W., Zarecki, C., Shiftan, Y., & Gesser-Edelsburg, A. (2015). Alcohol Consumption among Arabs in Israel: A qualitative study. Substance Use and Misuse,50(2), 268–273.
Boffetta, P., Hashibe, M., La Vecchia, C., Zatonski, W., & Rehm, J. (2006). The burden of cancer attributable to alcohol drinking. International Journal of Cancer,119(4), 884–887.
Denscombe, M. (1995). Ethnic group and alcohol consumption: The case of 15–16-year-olds in Leicestershire. Public Health,109(2), 133–142.
Ghandour, L. A., Karam, E. G., & Maalouf, W. E. (2009). Lifetime alcohol use, abuse, and dependence among university students in Lebanon: Exploring the role of religiosity in different religious faiths. Addiction,104(6), 940–948.
Gilmore, I. (2015). Alcohol—Who is paying the price? BMJ,350, h2974.
Gilmore, I., Anderson, W., Bauld, L., et al. (2013a). Health first: An evidence-based alcohol strategy for the UK. Stirling: University of Stirling.
Gilmore, W., Chikritzhs, T., & Gilmore, I. (2013b). Alcohol: Is the evidence base guiding public policy? International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare,11(2), 85–86.
Lancet [No authors listed]. (2015). All in for alcohol awareness (Editorial). Lancet 385(9977), 1477.
Louise, J., Eliott, J., Olver, I., & Braunack-Mayer, A. (2015). Mandatory cancer risk warnings on alcoholic beverages: What are the ethical issues? The American Journal of Bioethics,15(3), 3–11.
Neumark, Y. D., Rahav, G., Teichman, M., & Hasin, D. (2001). Alcohol drinking patterns among Jewish and Arab men and women in Israel. Journal of Studies on Alcohol,62(4), 443–447.
O’Brien, C. (2015). In treating alcohol use disorders, why not use evidence-based treatment? American Journal of Psychiatry,172(4), 305–306.
Ohm, R. (2003). The African American experience in the Islamic faith. Public Health Nursing,20(6), 478–486.
Porche, M. V., Fortuna, L. R., Wachholtz, A., & Stone, R. T. (2015). Distal and proximal religiosity as protective factors for adolescent and emerging adult alcohol use. Religions (Basel),6(2), 365–384.
Rehm, J., & Shield, K. (2014). Alcohol consumption. In B. W. Stewart & C. B. Wild (Eds.), World cancer report. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Rew, L., & Wong, Y. J. (2006). A systematic review of associations among religiosity/spirituality and adolescent health attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health,38, 433–442.
Rogers, R. G., Boardman, J. D., Pendergast, P. M., & Lawrence, E. M. (2015). Drinking problems and mortality risk in the United States. Drug and Alcohol Dependence,151, 38–46.
Salamé, J., Barbour, B., & Salameh, P. (2013). Do personal beliefs, and peers affect the practice of alcohol consumption in university students in Lebanon? Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal,19(4), 340–347.
Scholes-Balog, K. E., Heerde, J. A., & Hemphill, S. A. (2012). Alcohol warning labels: Unlikely to affect alcohol-related beliefs and behaviors in adolescents. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health,36(6), 524–529.
Taylor, C., Jones, K. A., & Dening, T. (2014). Detecting alcohol problems in older adults: Can we do better? International Psychogeriatrics,26(11), 1755–1766.
Thompson, J. (2014). Identifying at-risk drinkers in primary care. Practitioner,258(1774), 5.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2014). Global status report on alcohol and health. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/112736/1/9789240692763_eng.pdf.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Human and Animals Rights
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Informed Consent
No Human participants in this review article. So no need for consent.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chamsi-Pasha, H., Chamsi-Pasha, M. & Albar, M.A. Slowing the Tide of Alcohol Use Disorders. J Relig Health 59, 497–502 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0311-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0311-y