Lyness Sarah M, McCambridge Jim
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Eur J Public Health. 2014 Aug;24(4):557-61. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/cku076. Epub 2014 Jun 9.
Charities exist to pursue a public benefit, whereas corporations serve the interests of their shareholders. The alcohol industry uses corporate social responsibility activities to further its interests in influencing alcohol policy. Many charities also seek to influence alcohol and other policy. The aim of this study was to explore relationships between the alcohol industry and charities in the UK and whether these relationships may be used as a method of influencing alcohol policy.
The charity regulator websites for England and Wales and for Scotland were the main data sources used to identify charities involved in UK alcohol policy making processes and/or funded by the alcohol industry.
Five charities were identified that both receive alcohol industry funding and are active in UK alcohol policy processes: Drinkaware; the Robertson Trust; British Institute of Innkeeping; Mentor UK and Addaction. The latter two are the sole remaining non-industry non-governmental members of the controversial responsibility deal alcohol network, from which all other public health interests have resigned.
This study raises questions about the extent to which the alcohol industry is using UK charities as vehicles to further their own interests in UK alcohol policy. Mechanisms of industry influence in alcohol policy making globally is an important target for further investigations designed to assist the implementation of evidenced-based policies.
慈善机构旨在追求公共利益，而企业则服务于股东利益。酒精行业利用企业社会责任活动来推进其在影响酒精政策方面的利益。许多慈善机构也试图影响酒精及其他政策。本研究的目的是探讨英国酒精行业与慈善机构之间的关系，以及这些关系是否可能被用作影响酒精政策的一种手段。
英格兰和威尔士以及苏格兰的慈善监管机构网站是用于识别参与英国酒精政策制定过程和/或由酒精行业资助的慈善机构的主要数据来源。
确定了五家既接受酒精行业资助又积极参与英国酒精政策进程的慈善机构：饮酒意识组织；罗伯逊信托基金；英国酒店业协会；英国指导组织和行动组织。后两家是有争议的责任协议酒精网络仅存的非行业非政府成员，所有其他公共卫生利益相关方已退出该网络。
本研究提出了关于酒精行业在多大程度上利用英国慈善机构作为工具来推进其在英国酒精政策方面自身利益的问题。全球范围内酒精行业在政策制定中的影响机制是进一步调查的重要目标，旨在协助实施基于证据的政策。
