Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity. Research and Public Policy. By T. F. Babor, R. Caetano, S. Casswell, G. Edwards, N. Giesbrecht, K. Graham, J. Grube, P. Gruenewald, L. Hill, H. Holder, R. Homel, E. Osterberg, J. Rehm, R. Room and I. Rossow. Oxford University Press. £29.50. 290 pgs. ISBN 019 263261 2

Since 1977, the World Health Organisation has sponsored publications which give updated accounts of recommended policies to prevent and treat alcohol problems. The current volume is the fourth in the series. Its multiplicity of authors illustrates its generous embrace of issues, which the text places into four disciplines: social, population, behavioural and medical. Basically, the publication offers a critical account of the assumptions and resultant approaches that have been favoured. A brief historical narrative, starting from the sixth century bc, moves to an extended description of the strategies employed since 1990 and studies evaluating their usefulness. The authors keep at the forefront throughout the book the need to prevent research evidence in a manner acceptable for official decisions and public discussion. The debated strategies are chosen to affect the drinking practices of …