Barcelona's plan to "denormalize" alcohol consumption

BarcelonaBarcelona wants to change the way alcohol is perceived and accessed in the city to "denormalize" its consumption and reduce the opportunities for access. This is the main line of action of the new Action Plan on Drugs and Addictions 2025-2028, a document that incorporates a gender perspective for the first time since the first program was launched in 1987. "Alcohol continues to be the most consumed psychoactive substance in the Catalan capital and is the main reason for starting treatment, both in men and women," said Marta Villanueva, Councilor for Health at Barcelona City Council, during the presentation of the plan.

Specifically, 46% of people who Those who begin treatment at the Care and Follow-up Centers (CAS) do so for alcohol-related problems.The most recent data from the Barcelona Health Survey (ESB) from 2021 show that 75.7% of men and 54.9% of women report having consumed alcohol in the last month. Furthermore, 14.1% of men and 7.9% of women report risky consumption, meaning that it can have negative consequences for their health.

Given this context, the new plan includes a series of preventative and harm reduction measures. These include regulating the sponsorship and advertising of alcoholic beverages in public spaces and on the Metropolitan Transport (TMB) network; regulating indirect advertising and sponsorship of municipal activities; limiting promotion at events with municipal involvement; and promoting healthy leisure alternatives for young people. "We want to reduce opportunities for consumption and for citizens to perceive Barcelona as a healthy city with fewer inequalities," explained Villanueva.

After alcohol, cannabis remains the second most consumed substance in Barcelona. Given this reality, the City Council plans to strengthen inspections of establishments that sell cannabis-derived products, as it has done for years. Furthermore, the new plan provides for increased therapeutic support resources for adolescents, young people, and their families, with services designed to offer early and personal support in situations of consumption.

The document, prepared by the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB), structures its 150 objectives around five strategic axes with a three-year horizon. One proposes environmental measures to limit the stimuli that encourage consumption, both of alcohol and other substances, and reduce the social, cultural, or commercial incentives that promote it. Specifically, it seeks to delay the onset of drug use among adolescents and reduce it among adults, as well as reduce the social stigma toward people suffering from addiction, Villanueva emphasized.

In addition, the plan updates its approach to new consumption patterns that have emerged after the pandemic, such as the increase in the use of synthetic cannabinoids, which are substances created in the laboratory that imitate the cannabis plant, the rise of chemsex –drug use for sexual purposes–, which according to the ASPB has grown exponentially in the city, and polydrug use, as the population often combines more than one drug.

A plan with a gender perspective

One of the most innovative elements of the new plan is its commitment to a gender perspective and an intersectional approach, recognizing that the causes, contexts, and consequences of drug use vary according to gender, identity, or social origin.

Along these lines, an increase in residential spaces is also planned for women with problematic drug use who have been victims of gender-based violence, a particularly vulnerable group that until now has faced greater barriers to accessing care resources.

Furthermore, and considering that addictions impact not only the individuals who suffer from them, but also their families, the new plan promotes accompaniment, guidance, and specific support throughout the school. Thus, it plans to create and disseminate a map of preventive and care resources for drug use and addictions and to work with Student Family Associations (AFA) and other stakeholders in the school community to provide prevention and therapeutic support to families and organizations.