Greying of the population in industrialised countries is a strong incentive to develop a dynamic policy of prevention in ageing because prevention still remains far from being satisfactory in gerontology. Prevention cannot only be based on a medical approach but must also take psychological, social and environmental factors into account, in particular life events and their consequences. Thus, it would be logical to speak of "management of ageing" through the promotion of health. The aim of an ageing policy is to provide a good quality of life ("successful ageing") to most people. Therefore, prevention must be based on the behaviour of each individual and his (her) reactions when faced with one or several risk factors, to optimise his (her) support for the proposed preventive measures. But beyond individual and collective awareness as regards these measures, decision makers must do appropriate choices to propose organised actions that should be global to be effective.