Part of Culture or Toxic Substance? Realities in Transition in Australian and Canadian Alcohol Policy Documents

IF 2.3 Q3 SUBSTANCE ABUSE Contemporary Drug Problems Pub Date : 2022-06-30 DOI:10.1177/00914509221109667

H. Keane, D. Moore, K. Graham

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

This article analyzes alcohol policy documents through the framework of ontological politics developed by science and technology studies theorists John Law and Annemarie Mol. Specifically, it analyzes seven Australian and Canadian documents from 2006 to 2020, focusing on different enactments of alcohol as a harm-producing substance that requires regulation. The article identifies and discusses two co-existing realities of alcohol enacted in these documents: (1) alcohol as part of culture, with benefits and harms manageable through the promotion of moderation; and (2) alcohol as an inherently harmful and toxic substance whatever its pattern of use. The enactment of alcohol as a toxic substance is supported by recent scientific knowledge, in particular the link between drinking and cancer. This second reality of alcohol as toxic is more prominent in the more recent documents; in particular, a transition from one dominant reality to another is clearly apparent in the changes from the 2006–2009 Australian national alcohol strategy to the 2019–2028 strategy. Changes in the dominant reality of alcohol enable or at least support certain policy initiatives while making others less possible and defensible. Focusing on the single reality of alcohol as inherently harmful to health and wellbeing reduces the options for preventing alcohol-related harms.

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是文化的一部分还是有毒物质?澳大利亚和加拿大酒精政策文件中的转型现实

本文通过科学技术研究理论家John Law和Annemarie Mol提出的本体论政治框架来分析酒精政策文件。具体而言，它分析了2006年至2020年期间澳大利亚和加拿大的七份文件，重点关注酒精作为一种需要监管的有害物质的不同立法。本文确定并讨论了这些文件中规定的两种酒精共存的现实:(1)酒精是文化的一部分，通过促进适度饮酒可以控制其利弊;(2)无论其使用方式如何，酒精本身就是有害和有毒的物质。最近的科学知识，特别是饮酒与癌症之间的联系，支持了将酒精列为有毒物质的说法。酒精有毒的第二个事实在最近的文献中更为突出;特别是，从2006-2009年澳大利亚国家酒精战略到2019-2028年战略的变化中，从一种主导现实向另一种主导现实的转变非常明显。酒精主导现实的变化使某些政策倡议成为可能，或至少支持这些政策倡议，同时使其他政策倡议变得不太可能和难以辩护。只关注酒精本身对健康和福祉有害这一单一现实，减少了预防酒精相关危害的选择。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Contemporary Drug Problems Social Sciences-Law

CiteScore

3.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Contemporary Drug Problems is a scholarly journal that publishes peer-reviewed social science research on alcohol and other psychoactive drugs, licit and illicit. The journal’s orientation is multidisciplinary and international; it is open to any research paper that contributes to social, cultural, historical or epidemiological knowledge and theory concerning drug use and related problems. While Contemporary Drug Problems publishes all types of social science research on alcohol and other drugs, it recognizes that innovative or challenging research can sometimes struggle to find a suitable outlet. The journal therefore particularly welcomes original studies for which publication options are limited, including historical research, qualitative studies, and policy and legal analyses. In terms of readership, Contemporary Drug Problems serves a burgeoning constituency of social researchers as well as policy makers and practitioners working in health, welfare, social services, public policy, criminal justice and law enforcement.