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 po licy debate away from aggregate level of consumption as the key determ inant of alcohol problems in favour of a sharper focus on the reductio n of harm and of high risk drinking. This argument is developed by hig hlighting the advantages of the latter approach in relation to: (i) th e ability to distinguish between low risk and harmful consumption of a lcohol (ii) the ability to predict which drinkers are most likely to e xperience harmful consequences of drinking (iii) the acceptability of policy objectives to government and industry, and (iv) the acceptabili ty of prevention strategies to the general public. It is suggested tha t this focused approach to the measurement and reduction of alcohol re lated harm is more likely to achieve tangible success in the policy ar ena than one which is overtly predicated upon the need to reduce total population consumption of alcohol.