From Science to Action? 100 Years Later - Alcohol Policies Revisited, 2004

Alcohol has been central to social, religious and personal use throughout the history. Alcohol drinking goes back almost as far as the human race does. A hundred years, therefore, may be seen as only a flash. The past century, however, has witnessed a fundamental change in dealing with alcohol problems. Hence, to give an overview of a hundred years of alcohol polices is a rather ambitious task and the contributions to this book shed only some light on the way in which alcohol policy issues have changed in this period.
This authoritative volume is relevant to both scientists and policy makers providing a state of the art in alcohol policy from different perspectives, covering both science/research/treatment and prevention practice and linking these areas.

International Perspective.- Alcohol Policy on the Agenda of the European Union.- From “Alcohol, Society and the State” to “Broken Spirits” to....- Alcohol Policy and the Public Good: As Simple As One, Two, Three.- Harm Reduction: The Drugification of Alcohol Polices and the Alcoholisation of Drug Policies.- History.- From Temperence Movements to State Action: An Historical View of the Alcohol Question in Industrialised Countries.- Reducing Discursive Complexity: The Case of Alcohol Policies in Europe (1850–2000).- Action.- Community Action From an International Perspective.- Does Price Matter? The Effect of Decreased Price on Spirits Consumption in Switzerland.- Policies and Politics in France.- Drunkenness and Preference for Spirits in Different Countries.- Towards Evidence-Based Policy.- Ethics and Politics of Policies.- What If We Found The Magic Bullet?.- Science, Public Policy and the Alcohol Industry.- 100 Years Swiss Alcohol Policy.- Swiss Alcohol Policy — “Model” or “Sonderfall”?.

From the reviews:"The papers emanate from meeting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems. The book includes small 'smargardsbord' of 15 high-quality papers by well-known scientists covering various aspects of alcohol policy ... . there is something of interest for scientists, practitioners and politicians ... . Among the topics included are well-balanced, knowledgeable reports on alcohol policy and the public good ... ." (Anders Romelsjö, Addiction, Vol. 101, 2006)