Binge Britain

Martin Plant, a social scientist, is Professor of Addiction Studies in the University of the West of England, Bristol. He is also Director of the Alcohol & Health Research Trust, a charity. His publications include the books Drugtakers in an English Town, Drugs in Perspective, Risktakers: Alcohol, Drugs, Sex and Youth, Alcohol: Minimising the Harm and the Alcohol Report. His work has focused on social, behavioural and policy aspects of alcohol and other psychoactive drugs as well as HIV/AIDS and risk taking behaviours. He is Director of the UK part of the 35 country European School Survey Project on Alcohol & other Drugs (ESPAD). Martin Plant is a frequent broadcaster and has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization. He has organised many scientific meetings related to alcohol, drugs and other topics.Moira Plant, a social scientist, is Professor of Alcohol Studies in the University of the West of England, Bristol. She is also Director of the Alcohol & Health Research Trust, a charity. Her publications include the books Women, Drinking and Pregnancy, Risktakers: Alcohol, Drugs, Sex and Youth and Women and Alcohol: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives. She has a longstanding interesting issues related to alcohol and gender and the effects of maternal drinking during pregnancy. She chaired the working group on drinking and pregnancy of the International Life Sciences Institute. She is Director of the UK and Isle of Man components of Gender, Alcohol & Culture: an International Study (GENACIS). The latter includes over 30 countries. Moira was recently President of the international Kettil Bruun Society for Social & Epidemiological Research on Alcohol. She is a frequent broadcaster and has served as a temporary advisor to the World Health Organization.

This book is an easy "good read". It is up to date, informative and broad-based, indeed substantially more broad than the title Binge Britain suggests. The historical perspectives are particularly illuminating.

• Introduction ; 1. Alcohol in Britain ; 2. Drinking habits: recent patterns and trends ; 3. The consequences of drinking: the good, the bad and the ugly ; 4. Alcohol policy in the United Kingdom ; 5. Bar wars: media frenzy and licensing chaos ; 6. Lessons from the past ; 7. Future directions? ; 8. Bibliography