Alcohol

From the cover. 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 covers 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 the various therapeutic aspects of alcohol. 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.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.