The WHO commission on the social determinants of health (the Marmot report) called for an international framework convention on alcohol like the 2005 framework for tobacco control. In this week’s journal, Robin Room and colleagues add their weight and some detail to this call (doi:10.1136/bmj.a2364). “Alcohol is the only strong psychoactive substance in common use that is not controlled internationally,” they say in their editorial. A framework convention would put constraints on international trade in alcohol, particularly on cross border trafficking, and would be a call for action, encouraging governments to implement evidence based policies within their own borders.

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