Good governance in public health policy: Managing interactions with alcohol industry stakeholders

This document provides guidance for identifying, managing and protecting against conflicts of interest associated with alcohol industry involvement in public health policy. The principles outlined here have been developed through collaboration with alcohol policy and public health experts across the UK, and informed by international best practice in approaches to managing interactions with unhealthy commodity industries. They are intended to enhance governance by providing a guide to inform the consideration and management of any interactions with industry actors. While this guidance is primarily intended to inform interactions within public health policy, the principles and practices outlined could usefully inform engagement with industry in linked policy areas and enable the development of a whole-of-government approach to interacting with alcohol industry stakeholders.

Guiding principles

1. Acknowledge the essential conflict of interest between alcohol industry economic objectives and public health goals, in accordance with WHO recommendations.
2. Establish good governance processes that promote transparency and protect health-focused policymaking from alcohol industry interference.
3. Minimise interactions with industry and restrict those that occur to information exchange to support policy implementation.
4. Reject partnerships with alcohol industry bodies.