The purpose of this guide is to assist government agencies and ministries in developing country-level legislation to implement, monitor and enforce effective alcohol policies.

The need for this guide was identified by countries in the Western Pacific Region who, after developing their Regional Strategy to Reduce Alcohol-Related Harm, recognized that there was also a need to provide countries with guidance on how to develop legislation to implement the strategy.

Subsequently, in May 2010 the World Health Assembly adopted a Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol, underscoring the importance of this new resource for any country wishing to address this widespread public health challenge.