Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity

Abstract

Abstract From a public health perspective, alcohol is no ordinary consumer product. On a global level, it is a major contributor to disease, disability, and premature mortality. It also has an adverse impact on many aspects of social life. Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity – Research and Public Policy describes recent advances in alcohol research that have direct relevance for the development of effective alcohol policies at the local, national and international levels. It covers the search for policies that protect health, prevent disability, and address the social problems associated with the misuse of beverage alcohol. This book is, at its core, a scientific treatise on what alcohol policy is, why it is needed, which interventions are effective, how policy is made, and how scientific evidence can inform the policy-making process. The book opens with an introduction to the policy agenda. The second section then presents a snapshot of drinking patterns and alcohol-related problems throughout the world, providing a global panorama of the challenges faced. The third section critically reviews the evidence for six strategies that have often been used as a basis for alcohol policy: taxation and pricing, regulating the physical availability of alcohol, modifying the drinking context, drinking-driving countermeasures, regulating alcohol promotion, education and persuasion programmes, and treatment and early intervention services. Section four provides an international analysis of the policy making process. The book concludes with a consumer’s guide to effective alcohol policy, synthesising what is known about how communities and nation states can effectively manage this extraordinary commodity.