Global alcohol producers, science, and policy: the case of the International Center for Alcohol Policies

Am J Public Health. 2012 Jan;102(1):80-9. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300269. Epub 2011 Nov 28.

Abstract

In this article, I document strategies used by alcohol producers to influence national and global science and policy. Their strategies include producing scholarly publications with incomplete, distorted views of the science underlying alcohol policies; pressuring national and international governmental institutions; and encouraging collaboration of public health researchers with alcohol industry-funded organizations and researchers. I conclude with a call for an enhanced research agenda drawing on sources seldom used by public health research, more focused resourcing of global public health bodies such as the World Health Organization to counterbalance industry initiatives, development of technical assistance and other materials to assist countries with effective alcohol-control strategies, and further development of an ethical stance regarding collaboration with industries that profit from unhealthy consumption of their products.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alcoholic Beverages*
  • Beer
  • Biomedical Research / ethics
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Food Industry* / economics
  • Food Industry* / ethics
  • Food Industry* / organization & administration
  • Health Policy*
  • Humans
  • Policy Making
  • Public Health
  • Public Policy*
  • Tobacco Industry
  • World Health Organization