But there is a problem of substance as well as of image.
"People don't understand that a Congressional investigation doesn't necessarily mean a problem of substance," Mr. Raffaelli said.
For China, the disproportionate rise of extraordinary wealth at the highest ranks of government is not a problem of optics; it is a problem of substance.
When myths like these are circulated, it discredits the sincere effort many of us have been making to deal with the problem of substance abuse.
Rocky Romano, who is producing "Ruffo," the documentary on Mr. Ruffo's recovery, said the problem of substance abuse in surfing extended beyond the athletes to include sponsors and promoters who tended to look the other way.
Many of these strategies are designed to change a deeply embedded problem of substance misuse, and considerable effort and resources have been targeted for long-term change.
This deficiency is rooted in the disconnect between public safety and public health wherein a criminal justice-centered approach takes the place of a public and individual health-centered approach to the health problem of substance use disorder (Drug Policy 2011).
The Home Office has been working for at least 10 years on a roadside drug screening device, but they say that as well as the problem of substance diversity, it has proved difficult to devise a small, easy to use device that can withstand all weather conditions.
"Sure, maybe the president himself could do more to forcefully champion this debate, but absent any real policy action it's not going to make a difference in the real medical problem of substance abuse, and it's not going to impress anyone".
At the same time there is a growing number of American lawmakers who have been forced to face the limitations of prohibition at home, realizing that evidence-based strategies offer a promising alternative to an overreliance on the criminal justice system as a solution to the public health problem of substance use.
