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Interventions that alter population-level risk exposure have yielded a number of improvements in public health. Tobaccotaxesareanexampleofsuchpopulation-basedapproachestodiseaseprevention. Inthecaseoftobacco, the harmsofshiftingtotalpopulationexposurethroughtaxationareminimal, becausethereisnosafelevelofconsumption. However, other risk factors do not exhibit the same linear relationship between exposure and mortality—and thereforemayintroducenewcomplexitiesincommunicatingwithindividualsandthepublic. Inparticular, manyrisk factors, such as alcohol consumption, exhibit a J-shaped association when plotting health effects like mortality on the vertical axis against the magnitude of the risk factor on the horizontal axis (Figure). Settingasidepopulationrisk, anyclinicianwhohastried tocounselapatientaboutalcoholusehasencounteredthe question:“But I thought a couple of drinks a night is good for my …