The Social and Ethical Significance of Non-Problematised Middle-Aged Drinkers

Abstract

Alcohol consumption in Australia is culturally privileged (that is, embedded within the dominant culture) and normalised. However, a growing evidence base shows that the risk threshold for alcohol is much lower than that previously described. There exists, then, the possibility that the drinking of those previously characterised as “low risk” may be a valid target for intervention in terms of reducing alcohol consumption, as large numbers of low-risk drinkers contribute significantly to alcohol-related health problems. Low-risk drinkers are a population of interest when developing interventions to reduce alcohol-related health burdens. This thesis examines the social and ethical issues associated with public health interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in this population using a mixed methods approach. The thesis begins with a focus on establishing what is already known about how non-problematised middle-aged drinkers construct their alcohol consumption, further develops how these drinkers construct their drinking in a South Australian context, and finally presents an ethical analysis of intervention considerations, based on a relational autonomy framework. Together, the studies that comprise this thesis contribute to our knowledge of how non-problematised middle-aged drinkers construct their alcohol consumption, critique ethical approaches to current alcohol policy and suggest an alternative ethical framework for whole-of-population interventions. This thesis contributes new evidence about alcohol consumption in a previously under-researched population group, which in turn provides important information to inform interventions targeting this group specifically.