Alcohol industry strategies to influence the reform of the Finnish Alcohol Law”

Alcohol and other drugs in a changing society

NordAN, Helsinki12.10.2019

Heikki Hiilamo

Theory of corporation-induced diseases

Diseases or other health conditions resulting from the consumption of hazardous industrial products such as tobacco, alcohol, food, guns and gambling machines

Alcohol industry

Major producers, distributors and retailers of alcoholic beverages

Trade associations & social aspects public relations organizations (SAPROs)

Globalization of production, international trade policies and new marketing procedures

Stronger transnational alcohol producers

Alcohol industry globalization

Five biggest beer producers have 50% of world markets

Three main beer producer in Finland: Sinebrychoff, Hartwall, Olvi

World’s 5th biggest producer Carlsberg (DK) owns Sinebrychoff since 1999

World’s 2nd biggest producer Heineken owned Hartwall between 2008-2013, since then Hartwall owned by Royal Unibrew

Olvi local brewing company with a strong foothold in Baltic countries

Alcohol industry & public health

Industry’s main goal to increase or maintain sales to increase profits and “shareholder value”

Inherent incompability with public health goals

Availablity theory

Alcohol availability a key mechanism responsible for the prevalence of alcohol-related problems

Availability conceptualized in terms of physical (e.g., convenience and access), economic (affordability), social (e.g., drinking norms) and psychological (e.g., alcohol expectances) availability

Alcohol policy in Finland pre EU-era

High excise duties (especially on liquor)

Government monopoly on off-premise wine and spirit sales (also strong beer)

Alcohol industry not allowed to participate in the preparation of alcohol policy

Since joining the European Union in 1995, Finland moved towards less restrictive alcohol control. At the same time, the transnational alcohol industry has interfered more actively in Finnish alcohol policy

Striking a balance between the EU’s harmonization policy and national health objectives

Estonia joins EU in 2002To prevent increase in alcohol export Finland lowers liquor taxes dramatically (unique natural experiment

Age-adjusted mortality from alcoholic liver diseases and fatal alcohol poisoning among men (left) and women (right) in 1990–2006 (Pia Mäkelä 2016).

• Numbers of acute and chronic alcohol-related deaths per 100,000 person-years among men and women aged ≥15 years, by age group, before (2001–2003) and after (2004–2005) a reduction in the price of alcohol, Finland, 2001–2005. A) acute mortality among men; B) chronic mortality among men; C) acute mortality among women; D) chronic mortality among women.

”This unique natural experiment has shown that --- that the socially disadvantaged and heavy drinkers have been most sensitive to the price decreases, whereas grievious problems measured in terms of mortality have not increased among those better positioned in society.”

Herttua K, Mäkelä P, Martikainen P: Changes in Alcohol-Related Mortality and its Socioeconomic Differences After a Large Reduction in Alcohol Prices: A Natural Experiment Based on Register Data Am J Epidemiol. 2008;168(10):1110-1118.

Government started preparing drastic measures to reduce alcohol related harm

Measures included restrictions on alcohol advertising and preparation of a new draft law on alchol

The Minister of Health and Social Affairs proposed an Act that would restrict the regulation of lifestyle advertising in 2012

Act was never passed as intended due to alcohol industry lobbying

•Which strategies alcohol industry used to block new advertising restrictions?•Do the strategies bear resemblance to those used by tobacco industry in the 1990’s (battle for smoke free laws)

Research questions (Study I)

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Five strategies - Information- Constituency building - Policy substitution, development and implementation- Legal- Financial incentive or disincentive 

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Emily Savell, Gary Fooks, Anna B. Gilmore (2015): How does the alcohol industry attempt to influence marketing regulations? A systematic review.

Five strategies - Information- Constituency building - Policy substitution, development and implementation- Legal- Financial incentive or disincentive 

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Emily Savell, Gary Fooks, Anna B. Gilmore (2015): How does the alcohol industry attempt to influence marketing regulations? A systematic review.

• Direct lobbying (politicians)

• Working groups (Parliament, Ministry of Health)

• Statements for Parliamentary committee’s

• Commissioned research - shaping the evidence base (”silent reportage”)

• Discrediting public health research results (claiming it has an agenda to maintain the alcohol monopoly system)

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Information

• Revolving door (Alcohol industry lobbying organization Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drink Industy has hired three conservative party employees as directors since 2005)

-> Opportunity to built long term relationships with policy makers, dissermination of industry favorable information and promotion of self-regulation

-> Industry invited to Ministry’s task force to prepare advertising restrictions (Finnish Grocery Trade Accociation, Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drink Industry, Federation of the Finnish Media Industry)

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Constituency building

• Societal campaigns (Parents’ organization, campaigns against ”excess bureaucracy)• Coalition partners (Finnish Grocery Trade Association, Federation of the Finnish Media Industry, Ice hockey federation, media organizations)• International partners (The Brewers of Europe)

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Constituency building 2

Curfew for underaged Does a bootlegger live in your family?

Stop a drunken child

• Self regulation• Freedom of speech• Individual responsibility• Advertising does not increase consumption• Tax revenues, employment

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Arguments

Alcohol industry succeeded in delaying regulation and in preventing ban on lifestyle advertising

Direct lobbying of politicians main factor behind the success -> links to Conservative party

Multistakeholder model (task force set up to prevent lifestyle advertising ban)

Strong alliances and common agendas with stakeholders

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Outcome of lobbying activities

Preparations for new alcohol law

Need for a new Alcohol Act in Finland with the aim to reduce alcohol harm.

The preparations for a new alcohol law in Finland began in 2016 with the specific aim to reduce alcohol related harm.

Involvement of the alcohol industry in policy making (EU influence). The main changes in the proposed alcohol law were: loosening

alcohol regulation and the sale of stronger alcoholic drinks from 4.7% to 5.5% in grocery stores.

Research Question (Study II)

What strategies were used by the alcohol industry to change the original purpose of the reform?

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Results

The alcohol industry used two main strategies to change the original purpose of the reform:

1) Information (including social media)

2) Constituency building (close ties with the National Coalition Party in the Parliament)

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Key message

The involvement of the alcohol industry in policy making in Finland may represent a key barrier to the development of effective alcohol policies in the country.