This text aims to provide a framework within which to consider the problem of alcohol abuse. It solicits scientific knowledge in an effort to make the problems associated with alcoholism more manageable, demonstrating how science can provide practical solutions to troublesome issues.

Drinking and drinking problems: empowering the policy response; Part I: The Individual's Drinking, Population Consumption Levels, and the Risk Relationships; International trends in alcohol consumption and drinking patterns; The individual's drinking and degree of risk; Population drinking and the aggregate risk of alcohol problems; Part II: Multiple Policy Options and the Evidence for Their Efficacy; Retail price influences on alcohol consumption, and taxation of alcohol as prevention strategy; Access to alcohol and the effects of availability on consumption and alcohol-related problems; Public safety and drinking within particular contexts; Giving information about alcohol: effects on drinking and on the social climate; Individually directed interventions as a component of the public health response; The Policy Implications; Appendix: Research opportunities.