Alcohol and prisons: report of a workshop held by WHO HIPP at the Eurocare Bridging the Gap Conference, Helsinki, November 2006

A major European Alcohol Policy Conference, Bridging the Gap,was held in Helsinki, Finland from 20th to 22nd of November2006. The World Health Organisation Health in Prison Project(WHO HIPP)¹ convened a workshop on the subject of Alcohol inPrisons. The workshop was led by Dr Alex Gatherer, WHO HIPP;Dr Andrew Fraser, Director of Health and Care, Scottish PrisonService; Dr Lesley Graham, Public Health Specialist, ScottishPrison Service and Dr Heikki Vartiainen, Medical Director, PrisonHealth Services, Helsinki, Finland. Major strategic objectives of WHO HIPP were outlined, namely,to harmonize and integrate public health with prison healthand to promote international awareness and best practice. Arecent development in global public health thinking is the underpinningof human rights, and therefore the right to health, as a driverfor health development and health for all.