ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to assess the need for alcohol education against a background of information on levels of alcohol consumption. In the United Kingdom, as in many other countries, alcohol is a legal drug, readily available and relatively inexpensive. The complex aetiology of alcohol and other drug use has been the focus of a considerable amount of research. The role of economic factors in alcohol consumption has already been briefly acknowledged. School-based alcohol education, therefore, as the focus of this book, is an example of health education, where exposure to specific learning opportunities is intended to help individuals to change (or to adopt) healthy behaviours in relation to alcohol use. The teaching package evaluated in the study specifically addressed alcohol misuse amongst 12- to 13-year-olds, and was therefore substance specific.
