酒精教育是在世界普遍充斥酒精不當使用的情況下,有計劃性的提供如何在其中生活的相關信息和技能。[5]世界衛生組織WHO所發表的2014年全球酒精與健康狀況報告(2014 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health)強調酒精在往後幾年會成為更嚴重的問題,預計酒精將是導致失能和死亡的主要原因。[6]首要之務是讓人們知道有關酒精和有害飲酒方式的害處。
美國目前有747所學校提供某種酒精教育。[19]學生必須完成一項了解暴飲產生後果的課程。 非營利組織反對酒駕母親聯盟(英语:Mothers Against Drunk Driving)(MADD)在他們最近的一份刊物中指出,接受調查的學生中,有五分之四的大學生飲酒,而所有接受調查的表示大學期間飲酒可促進社交、增進人際關係、以及解除抑制(英语:disinhibition)。[20]大多數的大專院校都有酒精政策,限制未成年人飲酒繼而產生不良後果。許多學校還要求所有轉學生和新生參加一個入學計劃,以便能夠了解關酒精的危險以及因應政策。一部關於18歲的科羅拉多大學波德分校新生Lynn Gordon Bailey Jr.,在迎新儀式中因為過度飲酒中而過世的紀錄片在許多大學放映,以提醒這種飲酒方式的風險。[21]
人們常常想知道酒精教育計劃是否物有所值。根據雙月刊《藥物和酒精評論雜誌(英语:Journal of Drug and Alcohol Review)》上的“我們可以-也不能-期望從學校的藥物預防中得到什麼”的文章報導,平均花費150 美元的防止藥物濫用計劃可為每位參與者節省840美元的社會成本。誠然,這項研究不僅關注酒精,但酒精所佔的比率是28%,是產生社會成本第二高的原因。社會成本可包括醫療衛生支出、監禁、生產力下降、過早死亡等。這篇文章的作者還稱,採行防止藥物濫用計劃的額外好處還包括減少早產和其他藥物的使用,以及較好的學校成績表現以及較高的畢業率。[21]
西澳大利亞州兒童和青少年事務專員 (CCYP) 於2011年調查14到17歲青少年如何看待酒精、飲酒可能導致的負面後果、以及有關攝取數量標準和國家酒精指南的知識。 CCYP還倡導兩個項目 - 學校藥品教育和道路安全(School Drug Education and Road Awareness,SDERA)和學校健康和減少酒精危害計劃(School Health and Alcohol Harm Reduction Project,SHAHRP) - 對高中生進行預防和減少酒精危害的教育。 SDERA的目標是預防,屬於西澳大利亞州的健康和體育課程,而SHAHRP的目標是減少傷害,由科廷大學的國家藥物研究所執行。[30]
^Cheryl Platzman Weinstock. Alcohol Consumption Increases Risk of Breast and Other Cancers, Doctors Say. Scientific American. 2017-11-08 [2018-11-13]. (原始内容存档于2020-11-28). The ASCO statement, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, cautions that while the greatest risks are seen with heavy long-term use, even low alcohol consumption (defined as less than one drink per day) or moderate consumption (up to two drinks per day for men, and one drink per day for women because they absorb and metabolize it differently) can increase cancer risk. Among women, light drinkers have a four percent increased risk of breast cancer, while moderate drinkers have a 23 percent increased risk of the disease.
^Noelle K. LoConte; Abenaa M. Brewster; Judith S. Kaur; Janette K. Merrill & Anthony J. Alberg. Alcohol and Cancer: A Statement of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2017-11-07, 36 (1). Clearly, the greatest cancer risks are concentrated in the heavy and moderate drinker categories. Nevertheless, some cancer risk persists even at low levels of consumption. A meta-analysis that focused solely on cancer risks associated with drinking one drink or fewer per day observed that this level of alcohol consumption was still associated with some elevated risk for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (sRR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.56), oropharyngeal cancer (sRR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.29), and breast cancer (sRR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.08), but no discernable associations were seen for cancers of the colorectum, larynx, and liver.
^Martin, Scott C. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives. SAGE Publications. 2014. ISBN 9781483374383(英语).
^Kumpfer, Karol L., et al. "Effectiveness of School-Based Family and Children's Skills Training for Substance Abuse Prevention among 6-8-Year-Old Rural Children." 16 Vol. 2002. ProQuest. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
^"Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s): Alcohol and Drugs." NCADD Frequently Asked Questions and Facts. NCADD. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
^"Underage Drinking Statistics." Too Smart To Start. SAMSHA, 2014. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
^"Ineffectiveness of Fear Appeals in Youth Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug (ATOD) Prevention." Prevention First. Prevention First, 2008. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
^Colby, S. M.; Colby, J. J.; Raymond, G. A. Addictive Behaviors : College versus the real world: Student perceptions and implications for understanding heavy drinking among college students. Addictive Behaviors (ScienceDirect). 2008-08-03, 34 (1): 17–27. PMID 18774233. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.07.023.
^Midford, L. Pose; Mitchell, R.; Lester, J.; Cahill, L.; Foxcroft, H.; Venning, D. Preventing alcohol harm: Early results from a cluster randomised, controlled trial in Victoria, Australia of comprehensive harm minimisation school drug education. International Journal of Drug Policy. 2014, 25 (1): 142–150. PMID 23867047. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.05.012.