It is estimated that “local alcohol”—sometimes called moonshine, noncommercial, illicit, illegal or unrecorded alcohol—may account for as much as 50% of total alcohol consumption worldwide. Yet this area of alcohol studies has been neglected in the research community, due, in part, to the difficulty in collecting data for a product that is largely illegal. Edited by Alan Haworth and Ronald Simpson, this book presents data from six countries in which local alcohol is widely produced and consumed: Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia, Tanzania and Zambia. Each country study provides a rich review of the varied customs and rituals surrounding noncommercial alcohol, its history, cultural significance, legal and socioeconomic framework of its production and consumption and implications for public health, policy and the beverage alcohol industry. The book also examines the common themes emerging from the collected data, including commentary from experts in the fields of toxicology, economics, and anthropology.
© 2021 International Alliance for Responsible Drinking
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