A new trove of documents obtained under the UK’s freedom of information act show how the alcohol industry aggressively campaigned for the government to drop alcohol marketing restrictions from its flagship health plan last year, as it did.
The government’s NHS ten year plan caused consternation among health experts when it did not mention alcohol marketing restrictions that had been widely trailed in the runup to its launch. Such restrictions are among the WHO’s top recommendations for reducing alcohol harm.
The documents show alcohol companies and alcohol trade groups wrote to the health secretary, chancellor and business secretary pleading for them to help water down the government’s health plan, according to a new report from the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS).
The NGO, which works to improve UK alcohol policy, said it obtained a total of 47 documents showing alcohol companies and alcohol industry funded organisations using “strikingly similar arguments, shared language, and coordinated timing” to push for a weakened health agenda. Their contents are misleading, according to the IAS.
“This is a textbook example of why the alcohol industry should have no role in shaping health policy. Their business model depends on increasing consumption, while public health depends on reducing it,” said Alice Wiseman, vice president at the Association of Directors of Public Health. ■