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ABSTRACT: The epidemiological basis of the total consumption framework in alcohol policy was originally laid in France in the 1950s in the work of the epidemiologist and demographer Sully Ledermann. This article demonstrates how this framework repeatedly and in a cyclical manner has surfaced as a central policy argument in alcohol control efforts in France since then. The article is based on a study of the radical restrictive French law on alcohol advertising - the ɶin Law that was passed in 1990 . The material consists of official documents and analysis of press materials. The conclusion is that the viability of the total consumption framework depends not on the epidemiological arguments alone. It also involves a universal social philosophy that focuses on the well-being and health of the population rather than individuals. In France, the population argument was also an expert position. Universalism and expert appeal were also the weaknesses of the policy, and the law has been widely considered a failure [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]