Alcohol related harm, particularly injuries and violence related to binge drinking, continues to enjoy a large amount of media interest. Such an ongoing concern cannot be considered misplaced; globally, alcohol related mortality and morbidity presents a significant public health problem. The World Health Organisation estimates that alcohol causes 1.8 million deaths worldwide (3.2% of total deaths), with unintentional injuries alone accounting for a third of these, and a loss of 58.3 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) (4% of total DALYs).¹ Alcohol related harm is a growing problem for both high and low income countries, and the need for effective interventions is ever more important.

To promote the uptake of effective interventions in the policy arena it is important that systematic reviews on the effectiveness of interventions are undertaken. The Cochrane Injuries Group (CIG) has recently published a review entitled “Interventions in the alcohol server setting for preventing injuries”.² The review was supported by the UK’s Alcohol Education Research Council and become the third completed …