In this week’s opening editorial Thomas Babor proposes that countries are like people when it comes to alcohol: some can handle their moderate drinking well, but some—like Britain—develop “a pathological pattern of alcohol misuse” (doi: 10.1136/bmj.39496.556435.80).

Babor is writing about the BMA’s report on alcohol misuse, which came out last month (doi: 10.1136/bmj.39495.570185.C2) and provided newspapers with the opportunity to print images of young women handling their drink badly. Babor commends the report for marshalling well the evidence for its suggested combination of increased taxes, controlling access to alcohol, and encouraging early intervention and treatment. Such measures, he …