Ministers are being urged to exclude the alcohol industry from helping to draw up plans to reduce drink-related harm because of its past “interference” with such initiatives.
The plea, from public health campaigners, comes soon after deaths directly due to alcohol hit a new record high of more than 10,000 fatalities 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 maximise sales involves a serious conflict of interest, according to the Institute of Alcohol Studies thinktank.
Dr Katherine Severi, the IAS’s chief executive, said: “Just like tobacco companies, alcohol companies have a long history of disrupting and delaying health policy, which is why the World Health Organization advises governments to protect against undue influence from the alcohol industry.
“Alcohol companies, trade bodies and industry-funded front groups should be treated in a similar way to the tobacco industry, with all interactions a matter of public record and discussions limited to implementation of policies that have been developed in the public interest.”
Severi pointed to how the Scottish government was unable to introduce minimum unit pricing of alcohol for five years after legal challenges by the alcohol industry.
The IAS and public health experts have drawn up new guidance to advise the government how to deal with the drinks industry. It recommends that ministers “minimise interactions with industry”, do not form partnerships with it and ensure good governance processes exist “to minimise the risk of alcohol industry interference 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 “drink-free days” initiative in conjunction with Public Health England, and would forbid educational materials it has produced to be used in schools, like those provided by the Talk About Trust, formerly known as the Alcohol Education Trust.
It would also see the Commons health and social care select committee no longer taking evidence from groups such as Drinkaware, the Portman Group and the British Beer and Pub Association. Senior figures from these organisations attended an oral hearing with the cross-party group of MPs in February during its inquiry into preventing ill-health.
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The bill for alcohol harm in England alone comes to an estimated £27.4bn a year as a result of NHS treatment, lost productivity and other costs, the IAS says.
Labour in opposition warned the drinks industry that it had to “do better” at preventing its products harming consumers. Last year, Andrew Gwynne – the public health minister in the new government – voiced concern at its self-regulation of marketing practices, another of the key issues highlighted by the IAS.
He said: “If they as an industry are advocating self-regulation but at the same time incentivising higher-risk drinks through placement and advertising, do not expect the next Labour government to sit on its hands.
“And I’ve issued this warning directly to them already. We are considering a wide range of different interventions. If they don’t shift, the next Labour government will make them shift.”
Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, the chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance and ex-president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “Over 10,000 people a year in the UK die due to alcohol-related causes. Yet the industry that profits from these products is given a say in how they are regulated, priced, marketed, and made available. The fox should not be in charge of the henhouse.”
The Portman Group rejected the IAS’s guidance.
Matt Lambert, its chief executive, said: “This is a narrow-minded suggestion put forward by an organisation funded by the temperance movement, and it completely fails to take into account the longstanding, tangible work of initiatives funded by the alcohol industry in tackling alcohol harms, encouraging moderation and enforcing responsible marketing.”
“For over 30 years the Portman Group’s self-regulatory system has effectively ensured that the industry has protected consumers from irresponsible marketing, and partnership working with the government has helped ensure that the vast majority of adults now choose to drink moderately, accompanied by sustained declines in underage drinking, antisocial behaviour and binge drinking.”
He added: “It is vital to listen to 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 which do a huge amount to encourage responsible consumption.”