Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD)-related problems in the United States claim more than 500,000 lives prematurely every year. Most of the diseases caused by tobacco, as well as the diseases, accidents, and injuries correlated with excessive alcohol consumption and use of illicit drugs, are preventable. The single most critical issue for the future of ATOD prevention and intervention is to fully inform public policy decisionmakers and the public at large about the interrelatedness of ATOD use and the personal and societal problems associated with it. Areas in which ATOD use has been a major factor include: (1) Health Care Costs, where it has been implicated in serious and expensive problems from child abuse to teen pregnancy; (2) Violence, frequently associated with criminal behavior; (3) Youth, whose ATOD use results in impaired judgment, which in turn leads to risky behavior; and (4) Workplace, where it results in more use of worker sick leave, causes workers to be less productive, and makes them more likely to injure themselves or others. References