Alcohol: Science, Policy and Public Health

Alcohol has always been an issue in public health but it is currently assuming increasing importance as a cause of disease and premature death worldwide. Alcohol: Science, Policy, and Public Health provides an interdisciplinary source of information that links together, the usually separate fields of, science, policy, and public health. This comprehensive volume highlights the importance of bringing scientific knowledge to bear in order to strengthen and develop alcohol public policy. The book looks at the historical evolution of alcohol consumption in society, key early studies of alcohol and disease, and the cultural and social aspects of alcohol consumption. It then goes on to cover the chemistry and biology of alcohol, patterns of consumption, gender and age-related issues, alcohol and injury, alcohol and cancer and non-malignant disease, and various current therapeutic aspects. The book concludes with a section on alcohol policy, looking at issues of poverty, the availability of alcohol and alcohol control measures. This major reference, written by international leaders in the fields of alcoholism and alcohol policy, provides a comprehensive study of one of the foremost health problems in the world, and represents the highest standards of research within the field. It will be valuable to physicians and health professionals involved with patients with alcohol-related problems, scientists, public health specialists, health policy specialists, researchers and legislators as well as students of public health.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgements Contributors I. Framing the issues 1: David J. Hanson: Historical evolution of alcohol consumption in society 2: Jürgen Rehm and Kevin Shield: Key studies of alcohol and disease 3: James C. Harris: Cultural aspects: Representations of alcohol use in visual art 4: Anya Taylor: Cultural aspects: Illustrations of alcohol use in literature 5: Judy Cornes: Cultural aspects: Alcohol use in film 6: Robin Room: Sociocultural aspects of alcohol consumption II. Alcohol: chemistry and biology 7: Laurence I. Peterson: Chemistry of alcoholic beverages 8: Philip J. Brooks and Samir Zakhari: Alcohol metabolism and genetic control 9: David Goldman: Implications of the genetics of alcoholism and addictions for public policy 10: Wolfgang H. Sommer: Pathophysiology of alcohol addiction 11: Wade Berrettini and Karl E. Rickels: Opioid pharmacogenetics of alcohol addiction III. Patterns of consumption 12: Gerhard Gmel, Kevin Shield, and Jürgen Rehm: Tools for estimating alcohol consumption 13: Gerhard Gmel, Florian Labhart, Kevin Shield, Marg Rylett, Dirk Lachenmeier, and Jürgen Rehm: A global overview of alcohol consumption patterns 14: David Zaridze: Impact of extreme drinking on mortality 15: Dirk W. Lachenmeier, Gerhard Gmel, and Jürgen Rehm: Unrecorded alcohol consumption IV. Alcohol: gender and age-related issues 16: Ralph W. Hingson and Aaron M. White: Adolescent and teenage drinking 17: Richard W. Wilsnack and Sharon C. Wilsnack: Gender and alcohol: consumption and consequences 18: Jennifer G. Plebani, David W. Oslin, and Adam B. Lipson: Alcohol use in the elderly V. Alcohol, injury, and violence 19: Scott Macdonald, Alissa Greer, Jeff Brubacher, Cheryl Cherpitel, Tim Stockwell, and Corneilia Zeisser: Alcohol consumption and injury 20: James C. Fell and Robert B. Voas: Alcohol and road traffic injury 21: Alex E. Crosby, Victoria Espitia-Hardeman, LaVonne Ortega, and Briana Lozano: Alcohol and suicide 22: Megan R. Gerber: Alcohol and intimate partner violence 23: Stephen K. Talpins, Robyn Robertson, Erin Holmes, and Matthew Dunagan: Violence and crime VI. Alcohol and cancer 24: CJ Peter Eriksson: Alcohol and carcinogenesis: mechanisms and biomarkers 25: Mia Hashibe, Binh Y. Goldstein, Lin Cai, and Zuo-Feng Zhang: Upper aerodigestive tumours: mouth, pharynx, larynx, and oesophagus 26: David Zaridze: Gastrointestinal tumours 27: Patrick Maisonneuve: Liver and pancreatic tumours 28: Peter Boyle: Alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk 29: Claudio Pelucchi and Carlotta Galeone: Bladder and genitourinary tumours VII. Alcohol and non-malignant disease 30: William H. Frishman: Cardiac disease 31: Kenneth J. Mukamal: Vascular disease 32: Julia B. Greer and Dhiraj Yadav: Benign diseases of the gastrointestinal tract 33: Michael H. Miller, Frank Sullivan, and John F. Dillon: Liver disease 34: Dhiraj Yadav: Pancreatitis 35: Dolly Baliunas: Diabetes 36: Tarakad S. Ramachandran: Neurological and mental disorders 37: Andriy V.Samokhvalov, Paul A. Shuper, and Jürgen Rehm: Infectious disease 38: Kenneth R. Warren and Margaret M. Murray: Alcohol and pregnancy: fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and the fetal alcohol syndrome VIII. Therapeutic aspects: current approaches 39: Amy O'Donnell and Eileen Kaner: Screening of high-risk drinkers 40: Eileen Kaner and Amy O'Donnell: Brief intervention: does it work? 41: Michael Soyka: Drug therapy: reviewing the evidence IX. Alcohol policy 42: Paul Miller and Marjana Martinic: 1. The private sector and public policy: can they be reconciled? 43: Aneel Karnani: Impact of alcohol on poverty and the need for appropriate policy 44: Esa Österberg: Control of alcohol availability: historical and current policies and their effects 45: Michael Livingston: Taxation and price control 46: Christine M. Wickens, Robert E. Mann, Gina Stoduto, Rosely Flam-Zalcman, and Jennifer Butters: Alcohol control measures and traffic safety 47: Claire Wilkinson: Public information and education campaigns 48: Harry Burns: Public information and education campaigns

Review :
This is a unique contribution to the field since it addresses public policy as well as important aspects of alcohol-related health consequences.