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Ministers are being urged to exclude the alcohol industry from helping to draw up plans to reduce drink-related harm because of their past “interference” with such initiatives.
The plea, from public health campaigners, comes shortly after alcohol-related deaths hit a new record of more than 10,000 deaths a year in the UK.
Drinks manufacturers and industry-funded groups such as the Portman Group and Drinkaware should be “kept at arm’s length” because their desire to maximize sales involves a serious conflict of interest, according to the thinktank of the Institute of Alcohol Studies.
Dr. Katherine Severi, director general of the IAS, said: “Like tobacco companies, alcohol companies have a long history of disrupting and delaying health policy, which is why the World Organization of Health advises governments to protect against undue influence from the alcohol industry.
“Alcohol companies, trade bodies and industry-funded front groups should be treated similarly to the tobacco industry, with all interactions a matter of public record and discussion limited to the implementation of policies that have been developed in the public interest”.
Severi pointed out how the Scottish Government has been unable to introduce a minimum alcohol price for five years following legal challenges from the alcohol industry.
The IAS and public health experts have drawn up new guidance to advise the government on how to deal with the drinks industry. It recommends that ministers “minimize interaction with the industry”, do not form partnerships with it and ensure that good governance processes exist “to minimize the risk of interference from the alcohol industry or obstruction of health policy objectives”.
If followed, the guidance would mean that government departments would not collaborate with the alcohol industry on health promotion campaigns, such as Drinkaware’s. “days without drinking” initiative in conjunction with Public Health England, and ban the educational materials it has produced to be used in schools, such as those provided by the Talk about Trustformerly known as the Alcohol Education Trust.
It could also see the Commons health and social care select committee no longer take evidence from groups such as Drinkaware, the Portman Group and the British Beer and Pub Association. Senior figures from these organizations attended an oral hearing with the group of transpartite parliamentarians in February during their inquiry into the prevention of ill health.
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The bill for alcohol damage in England only comes to a estimated at £27.4 billion a year as a result of NHS treatment, lost productivity and other costs, says the IAS.
Labor in opposition warned the drinks industry it had to “do better” to stop its products harming consumers. Last year, Andrew Gwynne – the public health minister in the new government – expressed concern about self-regulation of marketing practices, another of the key issues highlighted by the IAS.
He said: “Yes, as an industry they support self-regulation, but at the same time encouraging higher-risk drinks through placement and advertising, don’t expect the next Labor government to step up his hands
“And I have already issued this warning directly to them. We are considering a wide range of different interventions. If they don’t change, the next Labor government will make them change.”
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance and former President of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “More than 10,000 people die each year in the UK from alcohol-related causes. However, the industry that benefits from these products is given a say in how they are regulated, priced, marketed and available. The fox should not be in charge of the chicken.
The Portman Group rejected the IAS’s guidance.
Matt Lambert, its chief executive, said: “This is a narrow-minded suggestion put forward by an organization funded by the temperance movement, and completely fails to take into account the long-term and tangible work of initiatives funded by the alcohol industry to address alcohol harm, encouraging moderation and strengthening responsible marketing.
“For more than 30 years, the Portman Group’s system of self-regulation has effectively ensured that the industry has protected consumers from irresponsible marketing, and the partnership working with government has helped to ensure that the vast majority of adults now choose to drink moderately, accompanied by sustained declines in binge drinking, antisocial behavior and binge drinking.”
He added: “It is vital to hear a range of voices on these important issues and it would be counterproductive to exclude the expertise of the alcohol industry and self-regulatory bodies who do so much to encourage responsible consumption.”
