One of the major public health issues the writer will focus on is alcohol abuse. Alcohol is one of the popular and legally available drugs. Alcohol abuse is the use of alcohol in a way that causes harm to the user and those close to them - physically, psychologically and socially. The author will explore the impact of alcohol on the individual and community and alcohol policies, critically evaluating the role of the nurse and the effectiveness of the policy. First, it is important to know the underlying causes of alcohol abuse. These are stressors at work including fear of losing your job, conflict with colleagues, etc. and other factors according to research are sociability (71%), such as taste (51%), feeling at ease (12%), getting drunk (6%), getting drunk (2%), because everyone does it (6%) and to forget the problems (web4health 2008) and socio-economic factors. (Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities - Volume 2) The impact of alcohol abuse on the individual includes the risk of contracting many physical diseases including several types of cancer, hypertension, stroke, epilepsy and liver cirrhosis. Psychiatric risks include depression, suicidal tendencies, personality deterioration, dementia and mental disorders. (WHO Report, 2002). Other effects on the individual include accidents and crime, social relationships, job losses, marital problems, domestic violence or abuse and a devastating impact on families and children. (DOH 2011). On a community or population basis, the total cost of alcohol-related harm is estimated to be between £17.7 and £25.1 billion per year, of which the cost to the NHS is £2.7 billion of pounds per year. The other effects on the community are unusable parks/play areas due to few causes of alcohol abuse to deduce policies and strategies. The prevalence of alcohol-related problems is influenced by per capita consumption and, for this reason, alcohol policy must take into account both a population's general level of alcohol consumption and its drinking patterns. There is no doubt that patterns of alcohol consumption are important for alcohol-related harm, but so are social levels of alcohol consumption. According to Bright (1997) nurses lack assertiveness, mainly because assertive behavior has not received support from nurse managers in the past. This has led to a position where nurses no longer have a role in decisions and decision making. As a society we need to better understand alcohol abuse if we are to address some of the major health, economic and social burdens we face. current and future generations.