In 2009–2010, the H1N1 episode occurred in a general context of decreasing public confidence in vaccination. We assumed opposition to vaccination in general to be an ‘unfounded fear’, reflecting ignorance and perceived vulnerability among low-socioeconomic status (SES) people, and...

The ANRS-EN12-VESPA 2003 survey interviewed a national, representative sample of the HIV-positive population attending hospital outpatient services. Conducting the survey in a hospital made it easier to identify and contact HIV-positive patients, but involved various biases : the role of the...

(1) To build a typology of persistent smokers’ reactions to increasing cigarette prices (persistent smokers were defined as smokers who did not quit because of such increases) and (2) to investigate which factors were correlated with their reactions (we considered three categories: no...

Nowadays, experts are often said to be affected with a generalized "risquophobia", by using the notion of risk in order to blame technical innovations and business spirit. But a historical and sociological appraisal of the notion of risk leads to radically different conclusions. Firstly, the...

This paper argues that the sociology of deviance can be used to improve our understanding of some difficulties and unintended effects of health-promotion interventions designed to change risk behaviours, especially drug-taking. Firstly, many people engaged in 'risk behaviours' tend to deny the...

Encouraging seropositive people to voluntarily disclose their serostatus has been promoted as a key component of HIV prevention. Among other reasons, HIV disclosure to one's main partner is believed to be an incentive for serodiscordant couples to practice safe sex. The present article...

The concept of ??risk culture?? coined by Giddens offers an opportunity for communication of ideas between sociology and economics, because it assumes that today everyone is requested to behave as a ??homo oeconomicus??. But in general a new norm encounters resistance, it has to compromise with...