Introduction

Hawkins, Benjamin; Holden, Chris; Mackinder, Sophie

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-31034-9_1

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The Scottish and UK governments worked effectively together, in alliance with NGOs, to counter industry attempts to stymie MUP at the EU level. These findings on alcohol policy align with the findings of previous studies of tobacco advocacy, highlighting the importance of integrated governmental and civil society action across policy settings to counter industry opposition (Hawkins et al, 2018, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Recent studies have identified how tobacco industry actors employ highly integrated global strategies to shape policy environments and engage in processes of venue shifting within multi-level governance systems (Hawkins et al, 2018, 2019). Given the similarities identified elsewhere between the market and political strategies of the global tobacco and alcohol industries, it is likely that alcohol industry actors adopt similar approaches in this regard (Hawkins et al, 2016; McCambridge et al, 2019a, 2019b).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alcohol policy, multi-level governance and corporate political strategy: The campaign for Scotland’s minimum unit pricing in Edinburgh, London and Brussels

Hawkins

McCambridge

2020

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

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The Scottish government’s plans for a minimum unit price for alcohol were vehemently opposed by the alcohol industry leading to a 6-year delay in implementation after legislation was passed. This article seeks to explain the consequences of devolution and European Union membership for the development of minimum unit price in Scotland through the concepts of multi-level governance, veto points and venue shifting. Systems of multi-level governance create policy interdependencies between settings, an increased number of veto points at which policies can be blocked, and the potential for policy actors to shift decision-making to forums where favourable outcomes are more likely to be attained. In the minimum unit price debates, the alcohol industry engaged in multiple forms of venue shifting and used regulatory compliance procedures and legal challenges at the EU level to try to prevent and delay the policy. This has led to a ‘chilling effect’ on subsequent alcohol policy developments across the United Kingdom.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol policy, multi-level governance and corporate political strategy: The campaign for Scotland’s minimum unit pricing in Edinburgh, London and Brussels

Hawkins

McCambridge

2020

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

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“…taxation) (see Holden and Hawkins, 2012 , 2016 ). Consequently, the analysis below will be of relevance to those working on the topics of multi-level governance (MLG) and corporate political strategy in Scotland, the United Kingdom (UK), the EU and beyond ( Hawkins et al, 2018 , 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Tied up in a legal mess’: The alcohol industry's use of litigation to oppose minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland

Hawkins

McCambridge

2020

Scottish Affairs

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This article examines the alcohol industry's legal challenges to minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland through the stages heuristic of the policy process. It builds on previous studies of alcohol pricing policy in Scotland and across the UK, and of the use of legal challenges by health harming industries to oppose health policy globally. Having failed to prevent MUP passing into law, industry actors sought to frustrate the implementation of the legislation via challenges in the Scottish, European and UK courts. However, the relevance of legal challenges is not limited to the post-legislative stage of the policy process but was foreshadowed in all earlier stages of the policy process. The potential for a legal challenge to MUP, and the alcohol industry's clearly articulated intention to pursue such action, was used by industry actors to seek to prevent the adoption of MUP in the agenda setting, policy formulation and legislative stages and created significant ‘regulatory chill’ in other areas of Scottish and UK alcohol policy. Litigation, and the prospect of it, was thus part of a coherent and integrated long-term strategy which adapted to changes in the political climate and to different stages in the policy process. While both the rhetoric and reality of litigation failed to prevent policy implementation, it succeeded in causing a delay of six years, imposing significant costs on the Scottish government and creating policy inertia in Scottish alcohol policy subsequently. Moreover, the inclusion of a ‘sunset clause’ in the legislation, requiring ongoing evaluation of the policy's effects, presents additional opportunities for the industry to reverse MUP. Thus, industry strategies to undermine MUP and delay further alcohol policy developments require ongoing attention by policy actors and scholars.

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“…The potential for legal challenges under ISDS mechanisms may mean governments self-censor their legislative agenda, avoiding or watering down potentially controversial measures and leading to a so-called ‘chilling effect’ on health policies. This was evident in the case of tobacco industry attempts to resist regulation of product packaging and labelling in multiple contexts [ 35 – 37 ]. The lack of a cumulative jurisprudence in TIA law adds to uncertainty for governments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brexit, trade and the governance of non-communicable diseases: a research agenda

Hawkins,

Barlow,

van Schalkwyk

et al. 2023

Global Health

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Background The UK’s post-Brexit trade strategy has potentially important implications for population health and equity. In particular, it will impact on the structural risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including the consumption of health-harming commodities such as tobacco, alcohol and ultra-processed food and beverages. This article catalogues recent developments in UK trade policy. It then presents a narrative review of the existing research literature on trade and health and previous, prospective studies on the health impacts of Brexit. In so doing it identifies key questions and foci for a future research agenda on the implications of UK’s emerging trade regime for NCD prevention. Main text We identify five key areas for future research. (1) Additional scholarship to document the health effects of key trade agreements negotiated by the UK government; (2) The implications of these agreements for policy-making to address health impacts, including the potential for legal challenges under dispute settlement mechanisms; (3) The strategic objectives being pursued by the UK government and the extent to which they support or undermine public health; (4) The process of trade policy-making, its openness to public health interests and actors and the impact of the political and ideological legacy of Brexit on outcomes; (5) The impact of the UK’s post-Brexit trade policy on partner countries and blocs and their cumulative impact on the global trade regime. Conclusions Further research is urgently need to understand the ways in which the UK’s post-Brexit trade strategy will impact on NCDs and policy responses to address these, including the openness of the trade policy architecture to health issues. The outcomes of this process will have wider systemic effects on the global trade regime with implications for health. Researchers must be cognizant of the ideological components of the policy debate which have been absent from previous analysis of Brexit, trade and health.

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Introduction

Cited by 3 publications

References 22 publications

Alcohol policy, multi-level governance and corporate political strategy: The campaign for Scotland’s minimum unit pricing in Edinburgh, London and Brussels

Alcohol policy, multi-level governance and corporate political strategy: The campaign for Scotland’s minimum unit pricing in Edinburgh, London and Brussels

‘Tied up in a legal mess’: The alcohol industry's use of litigation to oppose minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland

Brexit, trade and the governance of non-communicable diseases: a research agenda

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