Alcohol regulations have always been a delicate area of policymaking. There must be a balance between the undesirable consequences of excessive drinking, and exercising one of the most basic freedoms – drinking freely! There are some countries that have solved this problem long ago, some had challenges in the past. Some of them, however, are still challenging while legislating alcohol-related policies, and the dispute does not seem to end soon.
World Health Organization (WHO) has recently published an action plan, supporting a decrease in alcohol consumption worldwide. We, as Freedom Research Organization, do not believe that every country in the world must face the same regulatory process when it comes to alcohol consumption. Therefore, we have written a consultatory response for WHO’s actions plan. With increasing high tax rates, limited accessibility, and strict regulations, Turkey is an example of WHO’s goals, but the consequences may not be as intended.
In this article, you will find a brief overview of Turkey’s alcohol-related regulations, a comparison of Turkey’s alcohol consumption data to Western countries. Finally, there will be a commentary analysis of the possible consequences of strict regulations, thanks to the recent publications of the Turkish Public Alcohol Policy Watch.
Consultation response from Çağın T. Eroğlu, Freedom Research Association, Turkey
