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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.01.029 Byline: Patrick Peretti-Watel (a), Jean-Paul Moatti (b) Keywords: Risk behaviour; Sociology of deviance; Health promotion; Risk denial; Drug-taking Abstract: 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 'risky' label just as delinquents neutralise the 'deviant' label, and preventive information itself may be used by individuals in shaping risk denial. Secondly, deliberate risk-taking may be an 'innovative deviance',which is related to difficulties of conforming to the dominant 'risk culture'. Health promotion is likely to be quite ineffective if it remains wedded to the dominant risk culture and de facto contributes to the spread of it. Author Affiliation: (a) Health and Medical Research National Institute, French National Cancer Institute, and Regional Centre for Disease Control of South-Eastern France, Marseilles, France (b) University of Provence, Inserm U379, France