The evidence that consuming alcohol, a psychoactive substance with intoxicating and dependence-producing properties, is creating a global public health epidemic has been accumulated through repeated testing and retesting. WHO promotes evidence-based public health policies and messaging that address alcohol as a widely shared general problem. This guide aims to support the understanding and reporting on the harm to individuals, families and societies caused by alcohol consumption, presenting ways to cover and think about alcohol consumption and its harms more broadly, as well as the proven solutions to this problem. Its main target audience are journalists or those interested in reporting about alcohol consumption and its consequences.