The Emergence of an Alcohol Policy Reform Agenda in the United States: A Don Cahalan Legacy

Abstract

During the last two decades our society has experienced a fundamental shift in its understanding of and response to alcohol problems. These developments occurred on several fronts: the formation of the anti-drunk driving movement; the government’s increased attention to prevention policy; the creation of various national coalitions of health, safety and consumer groups seeking governmental regulations of alcohol industry marketing practices; and increased attention among alcohol researchers to social, economic, and political factors that contribute to the incidence and severity of alcohol problems. Today, an intense political drama is occurring at all levels of governmentlocal, state and federalregarding alcohol policy. The alcohol industry and its allies are using their enormous financial resources and political clout to forestall the increasing pressure from citizen action groups, governmental agencies, and scholars for meaningful changes in the role of alcohol in our society. This essay examines the theoretical, philosophical and political underpinnings of these shifts in societal understanding of alcohol, alcohol problems, and alcohol policy. It first analyzes the shifts that occurred in alcohol research in the late 1960s and early 1970s,