A new Estonian awareness campaign, “Kui mõju jõuab teisteni” (“When the impact reaches others”), has been launched to draw attention to a part of alcohol harm that is often left outside public discussion: the harm experienced by people other than the person drinking. The campaign is led by Eesti tubaka- ja alkoholikahjude vähendamise koda (ETAK), the Estonian network working to reduce the health and social harm caused by alcohol and tobacco.

The campaign’s central message is simple, but important: alcohol’s impact does not always remain with the individual. It can reach families, children, partners, colleagues, road users, service workers and communities. Instead of framing alcohol harm only as a question of personal choice, the campaign invites people to notice the wider circle of consequences that can follow when drinking affects safety, relationships, finances, work or the emotional atmosphere around a person.

This perspective is strongly supported by public health evidence. The World Health Organization has stressed that alcohol consumption causes significant harm to others, not only to the person consuming alcohol. These harms can include injuries, road crashes, violence, family stress and other social consequences. The campaign therefore helps make visible a reality that many people recognise from everyday life, but which is still too often treated as private, accidental or invisible.

By focusing on the people around the drinker, “Kui mõju jõuab teisteni” broadens the alcohol policy conversation in Estonia. It does not rely on blame or fear, but on recognition: alcohol harm is not only measured in litres consumed or diagnoses recorded. It is also seen in missed trust, unsafe situations, emotional pressure and the burden carried by others. The campaign’s dedicated website presents these different “circles of impact” and encourages a more honest public conversation about who is affected when alcohol harm spreads beyond the individual.

Find more from ETAK (Estonia, June 2026)