ABSTRACT
Over the past 15 years a revolution has taken place in the way many scientists, educationalists and clinicians understand the nature of alcohol-related problems. The main shift in thinking has been to progress beyond the idea of there being but two populations of drinkers: a large group of harm-free social drinkers and a tragic minority of pathologically uncontrolled drinkers or “alcoholics”. The varied styles used by the contributors - from the clinical and descriptive through literature review to research report - reflect the diverse approaches and people becoming involved in this important area. The enormous potential for such work both in general practice and in the general hospital setting is discussed by Peter Anderson, Nick Heather and Jonathan Chick. In addition, Joe Ruzek has contributed a detailed account of Drinkwatchers, the first self-help network for controlled drinkers. The position and space devoted to this subject we believe to be inversely related to its importance.
