Browsing by Author "Kalapat R"

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    A composite index of provincial alcohol control policy implementation capacity in Thailand.
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-06-26) Jankhotkaew J; Casswell S; Huckle T; Chaiyasong S; Kalapat R; Waleewong O; Parker K
    BACKGROUND: There is a well-published literature on the effectiveness and stringency of alcohol control policies, but not many studies focus on policy implementation, where policies transform into impact. The objective of this study is to create a composite index that measures the capacity for implementing effective alcohol control policies across all provinces in Thailand. METHODS: Based on the international literature, we developed a list of key indicators for tracking the implementation of alcohol policies at the subnational level. To ensure these indicators were relevant to the Thai context, we obtained feedback from Thai experts. We collected primary data according to the developed indicators using questionnaires filled in by key informants at the implementing agencies and gathered secondary data at the provincial level. On this basis, we developed indices that reflect the status of alcohol control policy implementation. We then investigated the association between the indices and the prevalence and pattern of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms while adjusting for potential confounders using multiple linear regression and negative binomial regression, respectively. RESULTS: Scores on the Provincial Alcohol Policy Implementation Capacity (PAPIC) Index ranged between 39 and 79. We found that each 1-point increase in PAPIC score was associated with a 1.98 % reduction in the quantity of alcohol consumed in grams per day (coefficient: -0.02; 95 %CI: -0.03, -0.00; p-value<0.05; e-0.02= 0.9802). We also found that for each 1-point increase in PAPIC score, the proportion of regular drinkers reduced by 0.30 per cent (coefficient: -0.30; 95 %CI: -0.55, -0.05; p-value<0.05). However, we did not find any association between the indices and alcohol-related harms. CONCLUSION: The level of implementation of alcohol control policy at the sub-national level is associated with alcohol consumption levels. The findings suggest the value of allocating resources to the implementation of alcohol control policy.
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    Assessing alcohol industry penetration and government safeguards: the International Alcohol Control Study
    (BMJ Publishing Group, 2024-11-24) Leung JYY; Casswell S; Randerson S; Athauda L; Banavaram A; Callinan S; Campbell O; Chaiyasong S; Dearak S; Dumbili EW; Romero-García L; Gururaj G; Kalapat R; Karki K; Karlsson T; Kong M; Liu S; Maldonado Vargas ND; Gonzalez-Mejía JF; Naimi T; Nthomang K; Oladunni O; Owino K; Herrera Palacio JC; Phatchana P; Pradhan PMS; Rossow I; Shorter G; Sibounheuang V; Štelemėkas M; Son DT; Vallance K; van Dalen W; Wettlaufer A; Zamora A; Jankhotkaew J; Veitch E
    BACKGROUND: The alcohol industry uses many of the tobacco industry's strategies to influence policy-making, yet unlike the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, there is no intergovernmental guidance on protecting policies from alcohol industry influence. Systematic assessment of alcohol industry penetration and government safeguards is also lacking. Here, we aimed to identify the nature and extent of industry penetration in a cross-section of jurisdictions. Using these data, we suggested ways to protect alcohol policies and policy-makers from undue industry influence. METHODS: As part of the International Alcohol Control Study, researchers from 24 jurisdictions documented whether 22 indicators of alcohol industry penetration and government safeguards were present or absent in their location. Several sources of publicly available information were used, such as government or alcohol industry reports, websites, media releases, news articles and research articles. We summarised the responses quantitatively by indicator and jurisdiction. We also extracted examples provided of industry penetration and government safeguards. RESULTS: There were high levels of alcohol industry penetration overall. Notably, all jurisdictions reported the presence of transnational alcohol corporations, and most (63%) reported government officials or politicians having held industry roles. There were multiple examples of government partnerships or agreements with the alcohol industry as corporate social responsibility activities, and government incentives for the industry in the early COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, government safeguards against alcohol industry influence were limited, with only the Philippines reporting a policy to restrict government interactions with the alcohol industry. It was challenging to obtain publicly available information on multiple indicators of alcohol industry penetration. CONCLUSION: Governments need to put in place stronger measures to protect policies from alcohol industry influence, including restricting interactions and partnerships with the alcohol industry, limiting political contributions and enhancing transparency. Data collection can be improved by measuring these government safeguards in future studies.
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    Investigating Indicators to Assess and Support Alcohol Taxation Policy: Results From the International Alcohol Control (IAC) Study
    (Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 2025-03-01) Casswell S; Parker K; Randerson S; Huckle T; Athauda L; Banavaram A; Callinan S; Campbell O; Chaiyasong S; Dearak S; Romero-Garcia L; Gururaj G; Kalapat R; Karki K; Karlsson T; Kong M; Liu S; Maldonado N; González-Mejía JF; Naimi T; Nthomang K; Oladunni O; Owino K; Herrera-Palacio J; Phatchana P; Pradhan P; Rossow I; Shorter G; Sibounheuang V; Štelemėkas M; Son DT; Vallance K; van Dalen W; Wettlaufer A; Zamora A
    Alcohol taxation is a key policy to reduce consumption and alcohol harm but evidence on tax design and indicators to assess taxation policy are lacking. Tax design and two indicators: tax as a share of lowest retail price and affordability, were investigated in eight high-income and nine middle-income jurisdictions. Collaborators populated the International Alcohol Control (IAC) study online Alcohol Policy Tool, providing measures of tax design, tax rates; and typical lowest prices available for retail take-away alcohol. These data were used to calculate tax/share of retail price. Affordability of alcohol was assessed against gross national income (GNI) per capita. High-income jurisdictions had higher tax/share and higher affordability on average compared with middle-income jurisdictions. Over the sample as a whole there was no association between these two indicators of tax policy. The tax designs used also varied with high-income jurisdictions more likely to use specific excise tax reflecting potency and middle-income jurisdictions more likely to utilise ad valorem and specific volume based taxes and to use more than one method across a beverage. Increased alcohol taxation to reduce alcohol consumption and harm is established as a high impact policy and is believed to work by affecting affordability. However, less is known about the best taxation methods to reduce affordability or the best measures to monitor and compare alcohol taxation between countries and over time. In this sample of high-and middle-income jurisdictions tax/price share was not found to predict affordability, suggesting the need to further research indicators of alcohol affordability.