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The prevention of harm from drug use, both legal and illegal, is a major concern to government departments and clinicians throughout the world. Recently, much new research has been conducted regarding global levels and patterns of drug-related harm, on common risk factors with other social problems (e.g. mental health, crime) and on the effectiveness of wide range of intervention strategies. There is a need to summarise and synthesise this new knowledge for use in a range of disciplines. Preventing Harmful Substance Use offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date advice available on the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. Contributors provide authoritative, science-based reviews of knowledge on their areas of expertise, and make clear recommendations for the future of prevention policy and practice. A final section draws the work together and offers a framework for an integrated science of prevention.

The last three decades have seen an explosion of social, psychological and clinical research to identify effective strategies to prevent and treat alcohol-related problems. This “Essential Handbook” contains an updated selection of reviews of “what works” drawn from the critically acclaimed International Handbook of Alcohol Dependence and Problems. Selected specifically for health and other professionals, who need to provide effective responses in their work, these authoritative, science-based reviews are a distillation of the more practical elements, designed to save time for the busy practitioner.

Originally published in 1987, Helping the Problem Drinker addressed the realisation that only a small proportion of problem drinkers ever contacted existing treatment agencies, and that therefore a more comprehensive community-oriented approach should be developed. This included training of primary care health workers and the development of multidisciplinary Community Alcohol Teams. At the time other community-based initiatives such as self-help groups for early problem drinkers and early intervention programmes in general practice and general hospitals, had been implemented. This book draws together what had been learned about these new developments, a number of which had now been evaluated. The book will still be of interest to all planners and professional staff concerned with alcohol problems: both specialists and non-specialists in general medicine, psychiatry, psychology and the social services.