Abstract
blem among young people. Alcohol-related motor vetf X hicle crashes are the leading cause of death among those e under 25 years of age, and approximately 1,000 young *vKsts( children die each year of alcohol-related causes. Thousands more young lives are shattered by crippling injuries and other alcohol-related problems. And the problems extend to children's immediate environment-the family. According to a recent Harris poll, 56 percent of all respondents report that a member of their family or a close friend drinks too much. Family violence, family breakups, and child abuse, increasingly recognized as serious public health problems in the United States, are closely associated with heavy alcohol consumption. These statistics suggest the need for a vigorous, comprehensive alcohol policy aimed at preventing alcohol-related problems. During the last twenty years, important strides have been made, notably in a commitment to school-based education efforts, increased availability of treatment programs, more mass media campaigns, and more effective deterrence policies, particularly regarding drinking and driving. Prevention, however, requires a far broader set of goals and agendas. Individuals, particularly young people, act within a social, economic and cultural environment that shapes the choices available to them. The missing component in current alcohol policy is precisely the examination of these broader factors-how they are shaped and what public policy options are available to us as a society to change them.
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