Drinking Patterns and Their Consequences.

Abstract

More than 20 years ago Kettil Bruun and colleagues (1975) published Alcohol Control Policies in Public Health Perspective , which subsequently became known as the ‘Pink Book’ on account of its striking cover. This work brought together a multidisciplinary group of the world's experts in this field and summarized the state of knowledge at that time. While they examined a wide range of evidence and public health responses, the concept for which it became most famous was the linkage between the average per capita consumption of alcohol and adverse consequences. This provided scientific credence for the prevention of alcohol-related harm through control measures, including taxation and supply, at a population level. In essence the message was that increasing price and limiting availability are effective methods of preventing alcohol-related harm. This conclusion was, and remains, understandably unattractive to the alcohol industry, whose employees and shareholders have a vested interest in increasing the availability and consumption of alcohol. Governments, particularly those in alcohol-producing countries, also have a vested interest in alcohol consumption by virtue of tax revenue and employment created by the alcohol industry, although this is clearly offset by the economic costs of alcohol-related problems. It is perhaps not surprising therefore that the successor to the Pink Book, Alcohol Policy and the Public Good (Edwards et al. , 1992), aroused opposition from the alcohol industry. As with the earlier version, Griffith Edwards brought together an international expert group to review the evidence …