Commentaries
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2008); 83, 4, 523–525.doi:doi:10.1038/sj.clpt.6100509
Reducing the Harm of "Harm Reduction"
DJ Beirness1, R Notarandrea1, R Jesseman1 and M Perron1
1Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Correspondence: DJ Beirness, (DBeirness@ccsa.ca)
Top of page
Abstract
The article in this issue by Alan Leshner1 tackles one of the most contentious issues in drug use policy today and argues that we should dispense with "harm reduction" altogether—not the programs, policies, and interventions to which this term refers but the term itself. He makes the case that the initial clarity and simplicity of the phrase "harm reduction" have evolved into an emotion-laden designation that is interfering with the implementation and evaluation of public health programs.
