Both timely and topical, this book examines the most important aspects of the relationship between alcohol consumption and health. Drawing together much new and exciting work in this area, it reviews this emotive subject from a dispassionate perspective. It will provide a firm base for further research into the effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system, and into public health attitudes to what is both a universal pleasure and problem. Recent years have seen a sea-change in society's attitudes towards moderate alcohol consumption with the popular view now well-established that a modest amount of alcohol, regularly ingested, will benefit health. Despite wide agreement that some degree of protection from coronary heart disease exists for certain groups who use alcohol regularly and that there are biological mechanisms which might go some way to explaining such protection, there is still some concern regarding the true magnitude of any benefit. Additional issues include the relationship of alcohol to blood pressure and cerebrovascular disease, the influence of the pattern of drinking as opposed to overall intake, the effects on ill health of changes in alcohol intake and the association of alcohol with a wide range of psychosocial factors, as well as with all-cause mortality. There is also considerable uncertainty about the effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system in women and in the elderly and on the role that genetic factors might play. This wide-ranging book brings together an interdisciplinary group of experts working on many aspects of the biological effects of alcohol, and in particular on the cardiovascular system. It dra ws together new and exciting work in this area, reviewing an emotive subject from as dispassionate a perspective as possible. This book provides a firm basis for further research into the effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular system and into public health attitudes to what is both a universal pleasure and a problem.