1. Introduction: a public health warning

Over the last twenty years the beverage alcohol industry has set up and funded social aspects organizations to represent the industry in the alcohol policy debate and in the social and public discourse about the harm done by alcohol. Although apparently acting with a view to benefit or improve the condition of society, it should be remembered that the beverage alcohol industry's primary focus is to maximize profits (1):

"Every action taken by management is guided by one overriding objective – enhancing shareholder value."

In setting up social aspects organizations the beverage alcohol industry has aimed to create an image of a socially concerned business, whilst at the same time attempting to diffuse criticism and to manage public debate on issues that are sensitive to its business. Among the issues that the beverage alcohol industry would like to manage are alcohol policies that are effective in reducing harm, such as taxation and limitations on the availability of beverage alcohol, phrases such as 'the harm done by alcohol', and marketing practices in low income countries and to young people.

Social aspects organizations attempt to manage issues by gaining representation in a wide range of national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations (2); by working with national and international civil servants to create regulations that legitimize their marketing practices and opportunities; by diverting public attention and controversy through focusing on issues of secondary importance; by sponsorship of respected academics to engage in research whose agenda is specified by the beverage alcohol industry; by refocusing public controversy by initiating dialogues with the public that are needed to sustain industry viability; by inviting carefully selected supporters and critics to participate in consensus-orientated dialogues and then using their participation to enhance the image of their own industry; and by discrediting critics by stereotyping them with such labels as anti-alcohol, anti-business or prohibitionist.

Whilst it may be very appealing for governmental and non-governmental sectors and for educational, professional and scientific bodies to partner with the beverage alcohol industry through its social aspects organizations, it should be remembered that these organizations are not impartial. Such partnerships can compromise the independence of public health with a risk of damaging the public good and of impairing the trust of civil society in its public institutions. A high level of human health protection should be ensured in the definition and implementation of governmental policies and activities. Science based evidence should carry greater weight in the formulation of public health policies concerning alcohol than that of the special pleading of the beverage alcohol industry. Unfortunately, this does not often happen.

Five standpoints advanced by social aspects organizations confirm their overall aim, which is to benefit their funding body, the beverage alcohol industry, rather than to benefit public health or the public good.

Standpoint one -
individual responsibility

The notion of individual responsibility put forward by the social aspects organizations and the consequent individual based policy options favoured by them ignore the social environment in which the use of alcohol takes place and are thus positioned to fail in reducing the harm done by alcohol.

Standpoint two -
changing the climate around drinking

The funding and implementation of educational programmes by social aspects organizations creates a conflict of interest, and such programmes all too easily merge into marketing campaigns for the use of the beverage alcohol industry's products. The role of social aspects organizations in low income countries, with a clear objective of changing the social climate around drinking, is an affront to the vast majority of people in such countries who choose not to drink alcoholic products and a disregard for the harm that alcohol can add to the problems of already impoverished individuals, families and communities.

Standpoint three -
a place at the policy table

Although believing that they have an equal place at the policy table, social aspects organizations bring to the table a misrepresentation of the evidence base for effective policy, supporting only those policy options for which the evidence is of no or very limited impact in reducing the harm done by alcohol.

Standpoint four -
industry self-regulation

The beverage alcohol industry has consistently demonstrated that it is unable to be impartial in its self-regulation. It has blatantly, consistently and extensively broken its own advertising codes in all areas of the world and there is no evidence that this has changed over recent years. Self-regulation is inherently unlikely to work, since the essence of self-regulation in most countries and in most media is that compliance with codes is voluntary, and subject to changes and revision by the beverage alcohol industry itself. Most self-regulatory codes also do not account in their content for the way successful advertising actually works.

Standpoint five -
elimination of negative drinking patterns

It is not in the beverage alcohol industry's economical interests to eliminate negative drinking patterns. The industry makes its profits from negative drinking patterns. If social aspects organizations were successful in their objectives in eliminating negative drinking patterns they would substantially minimize the profits of their sponsors.

Whilst many of the practices of the social aspects organizations could be viewed as legitimate and sincere attempts by the beverage alcohol industry to be a good corporate citizen, irresponsible industry behaviour, such as aggressive product marketing to vulnerable populations, has not changed. If anything, the industry has accelerated its control over the manufacture, distribution and marketing of alcohol in low income countries, and has been active in high income countries in programmes ranging from the promotion of alcohol to young people to the sponsorship of research that fits its own agenda.

This position paper will identify a number of social aspects organizations, describe and discuss the five main standpoints that the organizations stand for, describe their five main methods of working and conclude by discussing how governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and scientific and public health bodies might respond and relate to them.

1. Anheuser-Busch Co. Inc. Annual Report 1997, p. 3.

2. Richter, J. (1998) Engineering of Consent: uncovering corporate PR (Dorset, UK, The Corner House).