Public Health Surveillance Studies of Alcohol Industry Market and Political Strategies: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective:This review examines public health surveillance (PHS) studies of alcohol industry actors that explore the implications of the integration of business and political strategies for public health.Method:Eligible for inclusion were studies published in English language peer-reviewed journals since 1980 that sought to investigate both alcohol industry business and political strategies and their implications for public health. Studies were also required to present economic, political, and health data together. Seven databases were searched until May 2018.Results:Six studies were identified as eligible for inclusion in this review, undertaken in high-, middle-, and low-income countries and published between 2000 and 2015. Political strategies are driven largely by business interests, whether at the company, sectoral, or industry level, and corporate social responsibility activities may be integrated within overall strategies. There is a high degree of collaboration in political strategy development between companies, facilitated by growing concentration among global producers operating in increasingly oligopolistic markets. There are limited insights into the dynamics of market competition and limited methodological data available.Conclusions:PHS studies play a valuable role in identifying aspects of alcohol industry strategies that warrant more detailed and carefully designed research, as well as in elucidating global health implications. Further research in PHS and other kinds of studies will assist efforts to reduce the global burden of disease caused by alcohol.

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

“…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).…”

Ultra-Processed Profits: The Political Economy of Countering the Global Spread of Ultra-Processed Foods – A Synthesis Review on the Market and Political Practices of Transnational Food Corporations and Strategic Public Health Responses

“…Each step was guided by the growing number of CDOH frameworks which identify and categorise the strategies used by corporations. 2,17,18,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis Market share data (percentage of market sales attributed to a global company) were sourced from the Euromonitor Passport Database for the world's largest 80 markets for the years 2011-2019. Market sales volume data (kg) were sourced from the same database for the years 2006-2019, with projections to 2024, for UPF and UPB categories.…”

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Reconceptualising the study of alcohol policy decision-making: the contribution of political science

“…The alcohol industry has a vested interest in how governments respond to alcohol-related harms McCambridge, Coleman, et al 2019 (Hawkins and McCambridge 2020). This might be important to understanding how industry actors exercise their power.…”