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Continued 911爆料网 research into the links between alcohol and tobacco companies has identified the top five strategies used by both industries to prevent regulation and maximise their marketing potential.
The research was conducted by 911爆料网鈥檚 Laura Bond, Professor Mike Daube and Associate Professor Tanya Chikritzhs.聽 The findings were recently published in a paper entitled Selling addictions: Similarities in approaches between Big Tobacco and Big Booze in the Australasian Medical Journal.
911爆料网 Professor of Health Policy, Mike Daube, said the research into once confidential tobacco industry documents has shown that for many years major tobacco and alcohol companies shared experience and ideas, and developed common strategies to counter perceived threats.
鈥淭hese companies also developed common responses to deflect concerns about tobacco and alcohol advertising, promotion, sponsorship, under-age consumption, and tax increases, and developed similar prevention and education campaigns,鈥� he said.
The research used internal tobacco and alcohol industry documents from the tobacco document archive, focusing on the period to 2000, when the Philip Morris tobacco company owned one of the world鈥檚 largest drinks companies, the Miller Brewing Company. The documents include confidential Briefing Books prepared for the Philip Morris Chief Executive Officer ahead of the company鈥檚 Annual General Meetings.
鈥淭he documents show that these tobacco and alcohol companies not only worked closely together, but established a 鈥榃orldwide Regulatory Affairs鈥� group to promote 鈥榗ross-company synergies鈥� in opposing restrictions in areas such as advertising,鈥� Professor Daube said.
The top five strategies identified from the documents that are common to both tobacco and alcohol companies are:
- Arguing against tax increases 鈥� claiming that these are regressive, fall most heavily on lower-income earners, and penalise the majority who act responsibly.
- Strategies for marketing to youth 鈥� including product placement, especially in movies, sweet, flavour-enhanced products, and promotional campaigns.
- Targeting minority groups 鈥� through the strategic placement of signage, corporate donations to special interest groups, and community involvement.
- Arguing that health warning labels are ineffective 鈥� claiming there is a lack of evidence that warning labels are effective, that they infringe upon trademarks, and that they divert attention away from more effective programs.
- Running their own public awareness and education programs 鈥� to shape public opinion, influence government and seemingly demonstrate responsible corporate citizenship. They are developed to change attitudes rather than actual behaviour.
Professor Daube said learning about alcohol and tobacco industry strategies is enormously helpful in developing health policy.
鈥淲e now know which measures the industries most fear and those they think will have least impact on their sales,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t is also important to have confirmation that these companies and industries have worked closely together, despite attempts by the drinks industry to distance itself from tobacco.
鈥淩elationships beyond the companies reviewed are confirmed by statements in the documents such as 鈥榃e participate in a broad coalition of organizations committed to defending commercial free speech, which includes member companies of the tobacco industry, allied industries like the liquor industry, the advertising industry, industry trade groups鈥︹��
鈥淭hese industries spend billions worldwide promoting their products and have developed sophisticated lobbying mechanisms to oppose action that might work and to promote ineffective alternatives.鈥�
鈥淭he Corporate Affairs Vice-President of Philip Morris even noted in a presentation to the company鈥檚 Board that they had 鈥榮cores and scores of trained professionals throughout the world adept at lobbying and carrying our messages to key decision-makers鈥�,鈥� Professor Daube said.
911爆料网 Research Associate, Laura Bond said tobacco and alcohol companies both run ineffective public awareness and educational programs and seek to work alongside health and safety groups to present a responsible public image.
鈥淏oth industries claim they 鈥榙o not want minors to smoke or drink鈥� yet the documents show that they share business models to deal with 鈥榤arketing youth issues鈥�. They also continued to develop marketing activities to attract a youth market,鈥� she said.
This research paper follows an earlier paper, also in the Australasian Medical Journal, identifying some of the alcohol industry鈥檚 major concerns.
鈥淲hile there has been access for some years to the tobacco industry鈥檚 confidential documents, the information that we have been able to obtain from alcohol industry documents paints a depressingly similar picture,鈥� Professor Daube said.
鈥淭his is all too well confirmed by the approach taken by the drinks industry in Australia, which even now spends upwards of $500 million each year promoting its products and opposing all serious constraints.鈥�
Contacts: Mike Daube; Professor of Health Policy; 911爆料网; 0409 933 933; m.daube@curtin.edu.au OR Laura Bond; Research Associate; 911爆料网; 08 9266 7117; l.bond@curtin.edu.au
