The meaning of prevention and 8 basic requirements for programs designed to prevent alcohol problems in humans were discussed. Prevention must be directed at a specifiable and countable social problem related to beverage alcohol. The nature and probable antecedents of the problem must be described and analyzed. The target of prevention must be counted before, during and after the prevention attempt. There must be an explicit rationale for the adoption of a set of procedures which brings about prevention. The specified, measurable changes which were expected to result from the prevention procedures must be prestated. The time phases of the event or behavior or condition being attacked must be described. The changes, expected or not, which occur after the start of the program must be measured. The impact of a program for preventing a specific alcohol problem on other alcohol problems and other prevention programs must be assessed. Before serious prevention attempts can be initiated, 4 things must be done; working definitions of drink, drinkers and drinking must be developed; a periodic national data-gathering program must be conducted to collect data on drinks, drinkers and drinking; a study must be conducted of the nature of social problems and of alcohol-related problems; and a body of data on patterned responses to alcohol problems must be developed. Despite the lack of serious prevention programs in the past, the chances for developing such programs are excellent.