Alcohologist's fourth book provides insight into new Surgeon General's alcohol/health report
Burlington, Wis., November 23, 2015 – Award-winning alcohol and health writer, Scott Stevens, releases I can't see the forest with all these damn trees in the way: The health consequences of alcohol December 2. The paperback release follows a new report from the U.S. Surgeon General Nov. 17 that, for the first time, took on the health and economic impact of alcohol use. Alcohol use is a cost driver for the health system because more long-term health consequences from drinking are coming to light… while more ‘benefits’ of drinking are being debunked, Stevens says. “I’ve championed this theme since my first book in 2010 and in each of the two books that followed.”
The Surgeon General's report has been called 'unprecedented' and a 'landmark.' The author's take: “It wasn’t a surprise to me as it, too, pointed out the toll of drinking a toxin and known carcinogen – even moderately. It is the first time a government appointee challenged the most readily available but costliest and deadliest drug in America. It legitimately signals the first shift in alcohol policy since Prohibition was repealed. It wasn’t an I-Told-You-So moment though. It was a disturbing moment actually: Most summaries of the report sort of neglected to mention the drug ‘alcohol’ and instead focused on what the publication could mean for the availability/accessibility of drug treatment.
“They’re seeing the forest. Not the trees.”
The book will be available for $12.99 at Amazon, BookLocker, other online and bricks-and-mortar booksellers, and the author's website www.alcohologist.com. It is the second 2016 release by the author, preceded by an educational DVD series, The A-Files: Alcohol A-Z.
Each of Stevens's three books includes a chapter on the health fallout of drinking alcohol. “It's not about discouraging drinking, except for the alcoholic. It's about making informed decisions about using alcohol based on evidence-based science. Informed decisions don't come from observational studies and wishful thinking.”