Civil servants should be congratulated for rejecting “whole population theory”

doi:10.1136/bmj.312.7029.507a

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James Le Fanu

General practitioner Mawbey Brough Health Centre, London SW8 2UD

EDITOR,—Griffith Edwards's editorial1 criticising the Department of Health's report Sensible Drinking2 is misleading in asserting that the recommendation to raise the “safe” limits of alcohol consumption “was unsupported by either new analysis or new evidence.” On the contrary, the report states quite explicitly, citing appropriate references, that the change in policy is based on a rejection of the “whole population theory” as promulgated most recently by a joint committee of the royal colleges chaired by Professor Michael Marmot. The specific question that needs …