ALCOHOL EDUCATION INITIATIVES IN SCOTLAND - A CURRENT PERSPECTIVE

Against a background of the official targets and strategies for reduci ng alcohol consumption by the year 2000, this paper provides a critica l overview of selected alcohol education initiatives in Scotland over approximately the last five years. While not intended to be a comprehe nsive review of the effectiveness of alcohol education, the paper inev itably draws some attention to the absence of rigorous evaluation in m any initiatives. On a more positive note, we conclude that the example s discussed in this paper illustrate the kinds of strategies for reduc ing consumption recommended by government. In particular, and perhaps due to the demographic nature of Scotland, there is clear evidence of liaison between national and local level activities, and of cooperatio n between the voluntary, private and public sectors, in a range of set tings. However we have to wait until the year 2000 to know whether suc h strategies have achieved their target.