Usefulness of AFD concept: limitations to overcome

Abstract

Commentary to: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.12980/abstract

The blind men and the elephant-response to commentaries

“…Unfortunately there is insufficient space to respond to all the thoughtful comments made on our paper . However, all commentators share a concern about the definition and measurement of AFD, and two call for more work and consensus in this respect. Interestingly, they do not generally comment on AFD as the age at which the first gram of alcohol was digested, referring instead to ‘age of drinking onset’ , ‘early drinking’ and so on.…”

“…However, all commentators share a concern about the definition and measurement of AFD, and two call for more work and consensus in this respect. Interestingly, they do not generally comment on AFD as the age at which the first gram of alcohol was digested, referring instead to ‘age of drinking onset’ , ‘early drinking’ and so on. It appears to us that they are asking implicitly for more work and a greater consensus on the definition and measurement of the early onset of harmful drinking.…”

“…A 6‐year‐old consuming several full drinks a day or before riding a skateboard on a steep slope is clearly harmful, and a 20‐year‐old taking a sip of alcohol once a year or during a religious ceremony is obviously harmless. Unfortunately, as we know from Carl Friedrich Gauss, such extremes are rare and in between there are so many shades of grey in the four‐dimensional cube as to make an exact and reliable definition of when and what kind of ‘onset’ or ‘early drinking’ is harmful extremely difficult, if not impossible.…”