ABSTRACT
Much that has been written about beverage alcohol during the past half-century has opened with statements about how accelerating consumption around the world is accompanied by the accelerating occurrence of a host of problems, and that this is especially prevalent and dangerous in developing regions. The assertion is treated as if it were self-evident and axiomatic, even though the distinguished pioneer and authority in terms of cross-national studies, Robin Room, admitted that "At least in the alcohol field, there is no country which has an adequate data base on different consequences of drinking" (Room, 1989). In this paper, I will demonstrate how that shortcoming is manifest in many countries, and why it calls for a fresh approach to the assessment of the many roles, both positive and negative, that alcohol appears to play throughout the developing world.
