Sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction.

An argument is presented for shifting the main focus of the alcohol policy debate away from aggregate level of consumption as the key determinant of alcohol problem in favour of a sharper focus on the reduction of harm and of high risk drinking. This argument developed by highlighting the advantages...

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Main Authors: Stockwell, Tim, Single, E., Hawks, D., Rehm, J.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 1997
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6518
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author Stockwell, Tim
Single, E.
Hawks, D.
Rehm, J.
author_facet Stockwell, Tim
Single, E.
Hawks, D.
Rehm, J.
author_sort Stockwell, Tim
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description An argument is presented for shifting the main focus of the alcohol policy debate away from aggregate level of consumption as the key determinant of alcohol problem in favour of a sharper focus on the reduction of harm and of high risk drinking. This argument developed by highlighting the advantages of the latter approach in relation to: (i) the ability to distinguish between low risk and harmful consumption of alcohol (ii) the ability to predict which drinkers are most likely to experience harmful consequences of drinking (iii) the acceptability of policy objectives to government and industry, and (iv) the acceptability of prevention strategies to the general public. It is suggested that this focused approach to the measurement and reduction of alcohol related harm is more likely to achieve tangible success in the policy arena than one which is overtly predicated upon the need to reduce total population consumption of alcohol.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 1997
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-65182017-01-30T10:53:36Z Sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction. Stockwell, Tim Single, E. Hawks, D. Rehm, J. alcohol - general population - harm reduction - harms - health - industry - international - literature review - patterns of use - political - prevention - theoretical An argument is presented for shifting the main focus of the alcohol policy debate away from aggregate level of consumption as the key determinant of alcohol problem in favour of a sharper focus on the reduction of harm and of high risk drinking. This argument developed by highlighting the advantages of the latter approach in relation to: (i) the ability to distinguish between low risk and harmful consumption of alcohol (ii) the ability to predict which drinkers are most likely to experience harmful consequences of drinking (iii) the acceptability of policy objectives to government and industry, and (iv) the acceptability of prevention strategies to the general public. It is suggested that this focused approach to the measurement and reduction of alcohol related harm is more likely to achieve tangible success in the policy arena than one which is overtly predicated upon the need to reduce total population consumption of alcohol. 1997 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6518 fulltext
spellingShingle alcohol - general population - harm reduction - harms - health - industry - international - literature review - patterns of use - political - prevention - theoretical
Stockwell, Tim
Single, E.
Hawks, D.
Rehm, J.
Sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction.
title Sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction.
title_full Sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction.
title_fullStr Sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction.
title_full_unstemmed Sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction.
title_short Sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction.
title_sort sharpening the focus of alcohol policy from aggregate consumption to harm and risk reduction.
topic alcohol - general population - harm reduction - harms - health - industry - international - literature review - patterns of use - political - prevention - theoretical
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/6518