Twenty years after its foundation, the Permanent Observatory for the Young and Alcohol proposes an in-depth reflection on the issue that is the focus of its work. The aim is to offer an articulate, as well as critical analysis of "planet alcohol", integrating different perspectives and disciplinary approaches.
The itinerary presents four parts. The first one is an overview of the social meaning of alcoholic drinks in the history of Italy, framed by a set of cultural consumption models. It also presents a reflection on the state of research on the relationship between the young and alcohol, with reference to both quantitative and qualitative studies. The second part addresses the main issues of the collective and social dimension of alcohol: the economic and the normative ones, and the very complex issue of the self-regulation mechanisms that a society can activate to deal with problematic phenomena (such as alcohol use and abuse).
The third part looks at the young's world, at their way of experiencing the relationship with alcoholic drinks, at their perception of the related risks, describing some significant experiences in prevention, health promotion and treatment of alcohol-related problems.
The last part proposes a reflection on international trends in alcohol consumption models, between standardizing globalization and persistence of the Mediterranean model, with its "protective" factors reducing alcohol-related damages.

Franco Prina PhD., professor of Sociology of deviancy and Sociology of law, Turin University. He has coordinated and carried out many research projects on alcohol and other addictions, with particular focus on the relative regulations and policies.
Enrico Tempesta M.D., former Professor of Neuropharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine and former Chief of the Drug Addiction Unit at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Rome). Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Osservatorio Permanente sui Giovani e l'Alcool.