Drinking patterns and alcohol policy: Prospects and limitations of a policy approach

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Abstract
Jussi Simpura: Drinking patterns and alcohol policy. Prospects and limitations of a policy approach The concept of drinking patterns is a fluid one. Still, it is much used today in the debate around alcohol control policies. Basically, two opposing sides can be found in the debate. The first stresses the view that not all drinking, but only certain drinking patterns are harmful, and that control policies should be targeted at harmful drinking only. This is the harm reduction approach. The other one is the total consumption approach, which stresses the link between consumption level and harm, largely irrespective of the patterns. This article discusses the difficulties in specifying drinking patterns as a target of preventive policies, and analyzes the prospects for developing preventive policies that would, first and foremost, be focused on harmful patterns only. Lacking empirical research on large-scale policy experiments, the conclusions are tentative only. Hypothetically, pattern-specific preventive alcohol policies could better meet some changes in the political atmosphere today, even in the case where the efficacy of the total consumption approach would still be undisputed.