The importance of continued and full implementation of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act: A comment on Barry and Lyne (2023)

Abstract

First paragraph: We read with interest Barry and Lyne’s (2023) perspective piece chronicling the development of public health alcohol policy in Ireland, which culminated in enactment of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act in October 2018 (hereafter ‘the Act’). At the heart of the piece is an interesting reflection on the circular nature of evidence in public health alcohol policy. It begins by highlighting how the formative stages of policy development in Ireland sought inspiration from the World Health Organization’s evidence-based framework for alcohol policy. It concludes with details of how Ireland has established a Public Health Alcohol Research Group, with remit to advise on monitoring and evaluating the Act, thus instigating a ‘feedback loop’ of real-world evidence which will inform the development and implementation of future public health alcohol policy internationally. The Act and plans for evaluation therefore once again position Ireland as a global leader in public health policy, as was the case in tobacco control (Studlar 2015).