Study reveals alcohol industry tactics to influence alcohol policy reform in Scotland

Concerns raised over commercial influence on current policy in England and Wales

2013-04-24

(Press-News.org) The alcohol industry – including supermarkets, drinks companies, and trade associations – distorted international evidence on effective alcohol control measures in an attempt to influence the Scottish Government's public health policy to its advantage, according to a study published today in PLOS Medicine.

Researchers, led by Dr Jim McCambridge at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found that the alcohol industry had ignored, misrepresented and undermined scientific evidence in submissions made to the Scottish Government's 2008 consultation, "Changing Scotland's relationship with alcohol." The consultation looked at policy proposals to introduce minimum unit pricing and end irresponsible promotions including below-cost selling of alcoholic drinks.

Dr McCambridge said: "There is a broad consensus internationally among researchers that the most effective measures to control problems caused by alcohol are to raise the price, control availability and restrict marketing activities. However, our study shows that key players in the alcohol industry constructed doubt about this wealth of scientific evidence and instead chose to promote weak survey-based evidence as well as making unsubstantiated claims to their advantage.

"These tactics mean it is harder for governments to make evidence-based policy where industry is involved. The public interest is not served by the alcohol industry's misinterpretation of research evidence and we must consider to what extent we should allow the health of the population to be compromised by these commercial interests."

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of York looked at 27 submissions made to the Scottish consultation by the alcohol industry.

Tesco criticised the data supporting the Scottish Government's proposals, claiming there was "little in the way of evidence" to support the impact of price on consumption. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association heavily promoted weak evidence in their submission, citing a small community trial which lacks thorough data.

The Portman Group made unsubstantiated claims that the proposals could "increase the appeal of alcohol to young people by creating a 'mystique'" and thereby "turning alcohol into a 'forbidden fruit'". They also claimed that the approach taken by the Scottish Government had been "widely discredited in research studies" when in fact there is broad consensus among researchers, who strongly support the approach as the correct one.

ASDA also made unsubstantiated claims about the adverse effects of policy proposals, saying they believed "minimum pricing and a promotions ban will create incentives for the black market and criminals and illegal door to door sales."

The findings raise concerns over the alcohol industry's ongoing involvement in alcohol policy-making for England and Wales. Unlike in Scotland, where submissions were available for all to see, not all submissions to the Home Office consultation on the implementation of the Government's Alcohol Strategy will be accessible in the public domain. It is unclear whether minimum unit pricing will be introduced.

### The research was funded by Alcohol Research UK.

Notes to Editors:

For further information or to request interviews, please contact the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine press office on +44(0) 207 927 2802 or press@lshtm.ac.uk.

1. J. McCambridge, B. Hawkins, C. Holden. Industry Use of Evidence to Influence Alcohol Policy: A Case Study of Submissions to the 2008 Scottish Government Consultation. PLOS Medicine. DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001431 2. The paper is available to media only under embargo 3. If you wish to provide a link to this paper for your readers, please use the following, which will go live at the time the embargo lifts: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001431

About the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education in public and global health, with 3,500 students and more than 1,000 staff working in over 100 countries. The School is one of the highest-rated research institutions in the UK, and was recently cited as one of the world's top universities for collaborative research. The School's mission is to improve health and health equity in the UK and worldwide; working in partnership to achieve excellence in public and global health research, education and translation of knowledge into policy and practice. http://www.lshtm.ac.uk

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Obese men at high risk for prostate cancer even after benign biopsy

2013-04-24

Obese men were more likely to have precancerous lesions detected in their benign prostate biopsies compared with non-obese men, and were at a greater risk for subsequently developing prostate cancer, according to researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The findings will be published online in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "Our study is focused on a large group of men who have had a prostate biopsy that is benign but are still at a very high risk for prostate cancer," ...

Health-care worker visits increase hepatitis B screening rates for Hmong Americans

2013-04-24

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — In the first study of its kind, lay health workers increased screening rates for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and knowledge about the disease among a group of Asian Americans, known as the Hmong, UC Davis researchers have found. The study appears online today in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Hmong Americans, who originate from the mountainous areas of Laos, are at elevated risk for chronic hepatitis B — the major risk factor for liver cancer. They're also at greater risk than either white or other Asian Americans for poor outcomes from ...

Researchers discover new explanation for diabetes and poor growth

2013-04-24

A group of researchers from the University of Copenhagen has taken a significant step towards understanding the reasons for both diabetes and growth hormone deficiency. Their new discoveries centre on the body's ability to regulate certain hormones, and their findings have just been published in the respected scientific journal PLOS Biology. Some people suffering from diabetes or affected by poor growth most likely have problems with the so-called PICK1 protein, a protein that plays a decisive role in the formation of both growth hormone and insulin in the human body. ...

New data show that white potatoes increase intake of potassium

2013-04-24

(Boston, MA) April 23, 2013 – Consumption of white potatoes is linked to increased intake of potassium, according to a new study released today at the Experimental Biology 2013 Annual Meeting. For each additional kilocalorie of white potatoes consumed, there was a 1.6 mg increase in potassium intake among adults 19-years-old and older, and a 1.7 mg increase among children and teens from 2 to 18 years of age. Gender, age, race/ethnicity and educational attainment, but not income or body mass index, were also highly predictive of potassium intake. Potassium is considered ...

Contact killing of Salmonella by human fecal bacteria

2013-04-24

Our gut is home to trillions of bacteria, numbering more than the cells in the rest of our body, and these bacteria help us to digest our food, absorb nutrients and strengthen our immune system. This complex bacterial ecosystem, called the gut microbiota, also helps to prevent bad bacteria from colonising our bodies and making us ill. As part of the symbiotic relationship between the gut microbiota and our bodies, the bacteria derive nutrition from our food and convert it into compounds that we can't make ourselves. Some of these compounds are part of the arsenal that ...

Researchers observe an increased risk of cancer in people with history of non-melanoma skin cancer

2013-04-24

Boston, MA – A prospective study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) observed an association between risk of second primary cancer and history of non-melanoma skin cancer in white men and women. The researchers found that people with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer had a modestly increased risk of getting cancer in the future, specifically breast and lung cancer in women and melanoma in both men and women. Non-melanoma skin cancer, which includes basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The ...

Geosphere features top geoscience technology, including LiDAR, EarthScope, CHIRP, ALSM, and IODP

2013-04-24

Boulder, Colo., USA – Geosphere papers posted online 4 and 17 April 2013 use LiDAR, ALSM (Airborne Laser Swath Mapping), EarthScope, CHIRP (compressed high-intensity radar pulse), and IODP (International Ocean Drilling Program) data to further geoscientists' understanding of the nature of Earth. New locations studied: Sakhalin, in the Russian far east; Peña de Bernal nation monument, México; and Andalshatten batholith, central Norway. Geosphere's online-only articles feature a variety of article lengths, stunning figures, and animations or 3-D digital displays. You'll ...

New research points to benefits of eggs, even for those at cardiovascular risk

2013-04-24

Park Ridge, Ill. (April 23, 2013) – This week at Experimental Biology (EB) 2013, scientists from around the world are gathering to share research on a variety of topics, including nutrition and health. Given the growing global burden of chronic disease, there is particular interest in the important role of diet and nutrition in overall health. Several studies presented at the conference looked specifically at the role of whole egg consumption in high-risk groups, including those with metabolic syndrome and heart disease, as well as the satiating effects of high-protein ...

Virtual, squishy creatures evolve to run using evolutionary algorithms

2013-04-24

ITHACA, N.Y. – A research team led by Cornell University's Creative Machines Lab has created a computer algorithm that can be used to witness virtual creatures evolving their squishy, muscle-like features in order to teach themselves to walk. The team incorporated concepts from developmental biology and how nature builds complex animals – from jellyfish to jaguars. The result is an array of bizarre, simulated robots that evolve a diverse series of gaits and gallops. The paper describing these soft-bodied robots will appear in Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary ...

The Asian monsoon is getting predictable

2013-04-24

For much of Asia, the pace of life is tuned to rhythms of monsoons. The summer rainy season is especially important for securing the water and food supplies for more than a billion people. Its variations can mean the difference between drought and flood. Now a Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego-led study reports on a crucial connection that could drastically improve the ability of forecasters to reliably predict the monsoon a few months in advance. Yu Kosaka and Shang-Ping Xie from Scripps and colleagues from NOAA found that a winter appearance of the ...

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Study reveals alcohol industry tactics to influence alcohol policy reform in Scotland

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: