42 Alcohol in our lives two sides of the Alcohol coin no ordinAry commodity “...alcoholic beverages are items of consumption with many customary uses, and are also commodities important to many people’s livelihood. But social customs and economic interests should not blind us to the fact that alcohol is a toxic substance. It has the potential to adversely affect nearly every organ and system in the body. No other commodity sold for ingestion, not even tobacco, has such wide-ranging adverse physical effects. Taking account of alcohol’s potential for toxicity is therefore an important task for public health policy.”¹ ‘The Strip’, Christchurch, early on Sunday morning (John Kirk-Anderson,The Press, Christchurch).