Alcohol, health education and changing notions of risk in Britain, 1980–1990

Abstract

This article explores the contentious definition and communication of alcohol consumption limits and their relationship to ideas about risk through an analysis of the development of health education materials during the 1980s. It argues that changing ideas about alcohol and risk, and their communication to the public, were a reflection of both specific developments in thinking about alcohol and the harm it could pose as well as broader shifts within public health policy, practice and outlook. Risk was understood as something experienced by individuals and populations, a conceptual framing that suggested different approaches. To get to grips with these issues, the article focuses on: (1) the definition of alcohol consumption limits; (2) the communication of these limits; and (3) the limits to limits. The problems experienced in defining and communicating limits suggests not only a ‘limit to limits’ but also to the entire notion of risk-based ‘sensible’ drinking as a strategy for health education.

Keywords:

• Alcohol
• risk
• history
• health education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 It may be possible to dig more deeply into the decisions behind the Drinkwise campaign once the cataloguing of the HEA’s papers at the Wellcome Library is complete.

Additional information

Funding

This article is based on research conducted as part of a Wellcome Trust Medical Humanities Investigator Award [Grant no. WT 100586/Z/12/Z].