Evaluation of alcohol policy implementation tools in Turkiye

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), while the average annual alcohol consumption of individuals who drink alcohol in European countries is decreasing, alcohol consumption per capita of alcohol users in many countries of the world and Turkiye is increasing. Alcohol causes more than 200 types of diseases and injuries, and it also kills 3 million people around the world every year. The fact that individual ways of drinking alcohol have harmful effects not only on the person himself but also on social life, prompts governments to produce policies that include various measures to reduce and eliminate these harms. In Turkiye, the 1982 Constitution also charged the state with the duties of protecting the general health of the people and protecting the country's youth from alcohol addiction. WHO, of which Turkiye is a member, adopted a package of policy recommendations containing a global strategy to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol use in 2010. The purpose of this thesis is to reveal the situation of the Turkiye's alcohol policy implementation tool choices and inactions, consisting of regulatory and supervisory actions, preventive activities, treatment and rehabilitative services, within the framework of meeting the imperative provisions of the Constitution and the recommendations of the WHO. In our research, document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, was applied. The inductive method was used by scanning the literature. Through document analysis, national and international reports, academic studies, field books, development plans, archive documents, GNAT (Grand National Assembly of Turkiye) minutes, legislative regulations, etc. Printed or electronic documents and statistical data were examined. As a result, it was seen that young people were not defined in Turkiye and a recommendation of 15-29 years of age was introduced. Additionally, it has been observed that the legal drinking age does not include young people and that there is no written alcohol policy to protect general health. The aim of combating alcohol has not been sufficiently included in policy documents until recently, and the policies have not been implemented effectively. It is thought that the sanctions imposed by legislative regulations are not sufficient to prevent rule violations. Policy recommendations regarding the identified deficiencies have been made to be used in policy-making processes.