Ministers urged to exclude drinks firms from alcohol policy planning

Ministers are being urged to exclude the alcohol industry from helping to draw up plans to reduce drink-related harm because of its past "interference" with such initiatives.

- Denis Campbell

The plea, from public health campaigners, comes soon after UK deaths directly due to alcohol hit a record high of more than 10,000 a year.

Drinks manufacturers and industry-funded groups such as the Portman Group and Drinkaware should be "kept at arm's length" because their desire to maximise sales involves a major conflict of interest, according to the Institute of Alcohol Studies thinktank (IAS).

"Just like tobacco companies, alcohol companies have a long history of disrupting and delaying health policy, which is why the World Health Organization advises governments to protect against undue influence from the alcohol industry," said Dr Katherine Severi, the IAS's chief executive.

"Alcohol companies, trade bodies and industry-funded front groups should be treated in a similar way to the tobacco industry, with all interactions a matter of public record and discussions limited to implementation of policies that have been developed in the public interest."

The Scottish government, Severi said, had to wait five years to introduce minimum unit pricing of alcohol after legal challenges by the industry.