RESET Alcohol Initiative Case Study: A Historic Win for Alcohol Policy in Brazil

Alcohol is among the leading preventable risk factors for diseases and death worldwide. It causes harm to health, families, communities, and national development, and results in some 2.6 million deaths worldwide every year. Alcohol also plays a significant role in a range of social issues including homicide, violence against women, child abuse, suicide, car crashes and falls. It’s also a significant contributor to the toll of noncommunicable diseases, specifically: liver disease, heart disease and seven types of cancer including mouth, throat, larynx, esophageal, colorectal, liver and breast.

A three-pronged communication strategy shed light on the harms of alcohol in Brazil, leading to government action on taxes.

Vital Strategies Brazil and its partners, ACT Promoção da Saúde (ACT Health Promotion) and Universidade Católica de Brasília (UCB), utilized a successful three-pronged plan that included providing timely research on alcohol taxation, an evidence-based media campaign and an earned media strategy to bring attention to the need for tax increases on alcohol in Brazil.

The effort was timed to coincide with a historic tax reform on the overall tax code across Brazil that included a provision for taxes on unhealthy commodities including alcohol, ultra-processed foods and tobacco.

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