Recent research strongly suggests that early onset of drinking may result from pre-existing emotional, behavioral, medical or other problems. For example, new research confirms that children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems diagnosable as alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence.

The idea that alcohol kills brain cells has long been promoted. The early temperance writers made this assertion and also insisted that the alcohol in their blood could cause “drunkards” to catch fire and burn alive. This combustion argument against drinking was dropped long ago but many anti-alcohol writers continue to promote the idea that even moderate drinking causes brain cells to die.

Anne M. Fletcher approached the question of how to help those who drink too much in a very logical way. She asked hundreds of people who had successfully dealt with their drinking problems how other people had helped them either moderate or eliminate their drinking.

Here are practical suggestions for either cutting down or abstaining from alcohol along with tips for helping loved ones who have a drinking problem.

Teenagers who drink alcohol with their parents are less likely to drink heavily, according to research among 10,000 students aged 15 and 16 in 130 schools in England.

"Preventing Alcohol Abuse is must reading for anyone concerned with preventing alcohol problems, and curious about how hundreds of generations of humans managed to survive thousands of years of interaction with alcohol without benefit of government management of consumption and long before the invention of alcoholism." - Harold A. Mulford, Ph.D. Psychiatry Professor, Emeritus Psychiatry Research, MEB

"David Hanson's book, Alcohol Education: What We Must Do, provides for the first time a sensible path for Americans to teach their young about drinking." - Stanton Peele, Ph.D.

"This book neatly chronicles how Americans got into their present absurd position that equates any drinking with alcohol abuse or illegal drug-taking--and shows clearly and practically how to get out of it. This book, together with Hanson's recent Preventing Alcohol Abuse, explains both our peculiar attitudes and our counterproductive laws, while offering constructive alternatives." - Dr. Dwight B. Heath Professor of Anthropology (Research) Brown University

It’s true that wine drinkers tend to have better health habits than many others do. However, that can’t explain away the established medical fact that the moderate consumption of beer, wine or distilled spirits improves health and longevity.

This article corrects common alcohol and drinking myths, with research based facts and statistics.

Here we examine the problem of binge drinking, especially among college students. We look at facts and statistics, and describe an effective method to reduce the problem.