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The Policies and Politics of Health Risk Management

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Management of Health Risks from Environment and Food

Part of the book series: Alliance for Global Sustainability Bookseries ((AGSB,volume 16))

Abstract

Risk is a part of life; it is the potential for harm and the probability of encountering negatively-valued events. The language of risk has become an intrinsic part of the political rhetoric in many industrialized countries. Safety, on the other hand, is the degree to which, in a group of people, one or more of the following three conditions are controlled, avoided, prevented, or made less frequent or probable: temporary ill health or injury, chronic or permanent ill health or injury, and death (Adams 1995; Siddall 1981). As people become wealthier, it becomes easier for them to avoid what previously would have been seen as involuntary hazards. Wealthier societies are thus characterized by a reduction in the fear of numerous health hazards, as our ability to control them correspondingly improves. However, this desire for safety is unsatiable. Whereas scientists and an attentive public are searching for real and potential health issues, politicians might be happy with those emerging issues, as they give them opportunities to take actions that provide them with political ewards.

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  1. Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Hajime Sato

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  1. Graduate School of Medicine &, University of Tokyo, Hongo 7-3-1, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Hajime Sato

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Sato, H. (2009). The Policies and Politics of Health Risk Management. In: Sato, H. (eds) Management of Health Risks from Environment and Food. Alliance for Global Sustainability Bookseries, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3028-3_1

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