ABSTRACT

There is an increasingly acknowledgement that drug and alcohol misuse is a major public health problem, and the previous chapters have reinforced this notion. The argument for raising the profile of alcohol and drug misuse problems is challenging in the realisation that substance misuse is more likely to be the norm than the exception among the population. The recognition, screening, and brief psychosocial interventions with alcohol and drug misusers are very much ‘core business’ for primary and community health services.