title: Time for a regional alcohol policy - A literature review of the burden of normative alcohol use in the Caribbean.
abstract: Alcohol use is deeply engrained in the socio-cultural fabric of the Caribbean where heavy episodic drinking is an accepted and common drinking pattern. This article aims to create awareness of the tremendous negative impact on population health in the English-speaking Caribbean from culturally customary levels of alcohol consumption. It advocates for the urgent development and implementation of a regional alcohol policy in the English-speaking Caribbean, and emphasizes the importance of crafting and implementing the policy without cultural offence.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Unit, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad. E-mail: sandra.reid@sta.uwi.edu.
authors.forename: Sandra D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult