Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity (3^rd Ed.) Research and public policy

Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity is a collaborative effort by an international group of addiction scientists to improve the linkages between addiction science and alcohol policy. It presents, in a comprehensive, practical, and readily accessible form, the accumulated scientific knowledge on alcohol research that has a direct relevance to the development of alcohol policy on local, national, and international levels. It provides an objective basis on which to build relevant policies globally and informs policy makers who have direct responsibility for public health and social welfare. By locating alcohol policy primarily within the realm of public health, this book draws attention to the growing tendency for governments, both national and local, to consider alcohol misuse as a major determinant of ill health, and to organize societal responses accordingly. The scope of the book is comprehensive and global. The authors describe the conceptual basis for a rational alcohol policy and present new epidemiological data on the global dimensions of alcohol misuse. The core of the book is a critical review of the cumulative scientific evidence in seven general areas of alcohol policy: pricing and taxation, regulating the physical availability of alcohol, modifying the environment in which drinking occurs, drinking-driving countermeasures, marketing restrictions, primary prevention programs in schools and other settings, and treatment and early intervention services. The final chapters discuss the current state of alcohol policy in different parts of the world and describe the need for a new approach to alcohol policy that is evidence-based, global, and coordinated. A valuable resource for those involved in addiction science and drug policy, as well as those in the wider fields of public health, health policy, epidemiology, and practising clinicians.

Thomas F. Babor is an Emeritus Professor and former Chairman in the Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He served as Head of Social Science Research at McLean Hospital's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center in Belmont, Massachusetts. In 1977, he received a Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In 1982 he moved to the University of Connecticut School of Medicine where he was the Scientific Director of the Alcohol Research Center and Interim Chair of the Department of Psychiatry. He has worked with the World Health Organization on the development of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and the Alcohol, Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Sally Casswell is Director of a WHO Collaborating Centre and Co-director of SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, Massey University, New Zealand. Her research interests are in social and public health policy in relation to alcohol and other commodities. She was selected by her peers to receive the Jellinek Memorial Award, the premier international award for alcohol research, for her contributions to 'the understanding of social and cultural drinking patterns and public attitudes' and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. She has published more than 200 articles in peer reviewed international journals, is a member of the World Health Organisation's Expert Advisory Panel on Alcohol and Drug Dependence and the Strategic and Advisory Group, NCDs and is Chair of the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance. Kathryn Graham is a Senior Scientist Emeritus and Adjunct Professor. The hallmark of Dr. Graham's research has been a focus on community. She is known for her contributions to understanding and preventing alcohol-related violence, including: the Safer Bars program; “Raising the Bar”, a landmark book on preventing violence in drinking