Industry

Behaving irresponsibly: separating UK alcohol industry claims from reality

In our latest blog, Emma Thompson explains the findings of her IAS/SHAAP-funded study that looked at alcohol industry misinformation from 2024.

Why are we still not telling the public the truth about alcohol and cancer?

Alcohol causes 7 types of cancer, yet public awareness remains dangerously low, partly due to industry-led misinformation. For Cancer Prevention Action Week 2025, the World...

Zero-alcohol drinks make teens think of alcohol – so why are we treating them like soft drinks?

Zero-alcohol drinks are growing in popularity, marketed as a healthy alternative - but do they prompt teens to think of alcohol? New research shows adolescents...

France’s drinking dilemma: Why young adults buck the global trend

Unlike many Western countries where youth drinking is declining, alcohol use among young adults in France has remained stable over the past two decades. Dr...

Rainbow-washing or genuine allyship? How alcohol companies target the LGBTQ+ community

Alcohol companies market heavily to LGBTQ+ communities, portraying themselves as allies while profiting from higher alcohol consumption rates among these groups. This blog critiques their...

‘Dark Apps’ uncovered: popular alcohol tracking apps backed by the alcohol industry mislead users

Apps to reduce drinking that are provided by alcohol industry-funded charities have been found to contain misinformation and may even increase drinking. Dr Roy-Highley and...

Alcohol’s contribution to climate change

Dr Megan Cook and Professor Sarah MacLean explain how little information exists about alcohol and sustainability, why this is an important area, and why public...

Following the science on public health partnerships: the alcohol industry is no ordinary stakeholder

A recent study looked at how the Portman Group, Drinkaware, and Public Health England interacted during a health campaign and how this allowed the industry...

Alcohol trade groups mislead Prime Minister on duty ‘increase’, putting revenue – and lives – at risk

Alcohol trade groups have repeatedly claimed that the increase in duty rates in August 2023 led to the Treasury losing millions in revenue. However, this...

Alcohol’s hidden calories: a missed opportunity in obesity policy

Why is alcohol - despite the high calorie content - missing from obesity policy documents? Callum Young and Dr Benjamin Hawkins look at why policymakers...

Making the wine duty ‘easement’ permanent would negate the public health objective of the duty reform

What is the wine duty easement, why is the wine industry lobbying to make it permanent, and why would that be bad for public health?

Is Youth Drinking Decline a Global Phenomenon? We Need More Evidence Beyond the Global North

In many Western countries there has been a decline in youth alcohol consumption. Yet many countries in the Global South are experiencing the opposite trend....

Beyond Personal Harm: The Costs of Alcohol to Society

Alcohol harm has a significant cost to society in England, amounting to over £27 billion. But how is this split across society, why is it...

The game the alcohol industry played with the Dutch National Prevention Agreement

The Netherlands' ‘National Prevention Agreement’ brought together public health groups with the alcohol industry to tackle alcohol harm. Wim van Dalen explains why the industry’s...

Why do countries with high alcohol taxes still have high rates of alcohol harm?

The alcohol industry claims that raising duty cannot reduce harm because some countries with high tax rates still have high rates of harm. This is...

Why alcohol industry partnerships with civil society and governments are problematic for public health

The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), an industry body, has launched a toolkit on partnership formation, which seeks to co-opt civil society and government...

Can a health case sustain a new Public Health Supplement in Scotland?

The Scottish Government is considering reintroducing a levy on large retailers that sell both alcohol and tobacco. Katherine Smith and Mark Hellowell discuss the previous...

Conflicts of interest in alcohol policy: What do UK policy actors think about industry involvement?

A recent study explored how alcohol policy actors understand the concept of 'Conflicts of Interest' in relation to alcohol industry engagement with UK public health...

10% of drinkers consume over half of all alcohol consumed in Australia

In Australia, a small percentage of heavy drinkers (top 10%) consume over half of the total alcohol. Cask wine and regular beer drinkers contribute significantly...

They are effective! Evidence and myths about alcohol taxes

Dr Guillermo Paraje explains the economic rationality for alcohol taxes and why the industry's arguments about tax being regressive are simplistic.