This report is divided into an overview of alcohol and health, and eight chapters which deal with various aspects of alcohol use and abuse. The epidemiology of alcohol abuse and alcoholism is discussed. Data are presented on self-reported consumption of alcohol among youths and adults; alcohol consumption during pregnancy; alcohol-related hospitalizations and mortality; alcohol problems in veterans and native Americans; and alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Early and recent studies on the heritability of alcoholism are reviewed, the environmental-genetic influences on alcoholism are considered, and human and animal studies on the genetic factors in physiological responses to alcohol are explained. In a discussion of psychobiological effects of alcohol, cognitive and neurophysiological effects, neuropathologic illnesses, electrophysiology, and neural and biochemical effects are considered, and theories of the effects of alcohol are reviewed. The medical consequences of alcohol are discussed in terms of alcohol and the digestive system, the liver, muscle systems, blood disorders, kidney disease, pulmonary disease, the endocrine system, and alcohol and cancer. The effects of alcohol on pregnancy outcome are discussed. Adverse social consequences of alcohol use and abuse are described, including alcohol-related accidents, crime, domestic problems, and suicide. Treatment trends in research and practice are discussed and preventive efforts are reviewed. (NRB)