Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2022 Jul;83(4):574-581. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2022.83.574.
This study examines how the alcohol industry responded to developments in Irish alcohol policy leading to the 2018 Public Health (Alcohol) Act, a set of measures designed to reduce overall alcohol consumption in order to reduce harm to health and society. Previous research has emphasized the political and economic strengths of the alcohol industry in Ireland and elsewhere. This study examines the origins of and the debates over this legislation to better understand the political tactics of the alcohol industry.
The study focuses on developments between 2009 and 2018, tracing activities by industry actors to shape the policy process at different junctures. Data for the study are drawn from 18 semi-structured interviews with politicians, government advisors, public health experts, and advocates as well as from relevant primary documents, public statements, and newspaper articles.
The study identifies three interrelated tactics used by alcohol industry actors--obstruction through participation, coalition-building and mobilizing proxies, and making use of extensive political resources in lobbying--and traces their impacts at different points in the policy process. We find that industry actors had some success in influencing policy, defeating particular provisions by averting their inclusion, and winning amendments to others, but ultimately failed to defeat the legislation. Specific opportunities and constraints present in the Irish context for alcohol industry actors are identified.
Public health considerations withstood a range of challenges from alcohol industry interests in passing public health legislation in Ireland. The findings have important implications for the study of the alcohol industry's political tactics in Ireland and elsewhere, including the use of lobbying registry data as a potential data source.
本研究考察了在爱尔兰酒精政策发展的背景下，酒精行业是如何做出反应的，这些政策导致了 2018 年《公共卫生（酒精）法案》的出台，该法案旨在减少整体酒精消费，以减少对健康和社会的危害。之前的研究强调了爱尔兰和其他地方酒精行业的政治和经济实力。本研究考察了该立法的起源和相关辩论，以更好地理解酒精行业的政治策略。
本研究重点关注 2009 年至 2018 年期间的发展情况，追踪行业行为者在不同阶段塑造政策过程的活动。本研究的数据来自 18 次与政治家、政府顾问、公共卫生专家和倡导者的半结构化访谈，以及相关的主要文件、公开声明和报纸文章。
本研究确定了酒精行业行为者使用的三种相互关联的策略——通过参与进行阻挠、建立和动员代理联盟，以及利用广泛的政治资源进行游说——并追踪了它们在政策过程中的不同阶段的影响。我们发现，行业行为者在一定程度上成功地影响了政策，通过避免某些条款的纳入，以及对其他条款进行修正，从而挫败了特定的规定，但最终未能阻止立法的通过。本研究还确定了在爱尔兰背景下，酒精行业行为者面临的具体机会和制约因素。
在爱尔兰通过公共卫生立法时，公共卫生方面的考虑经受住了来自酒精行业利益的一系列挑战。这些发现对爱尔兰和其他地方研究酒精行业的政治策略具有重要意义，包括将游说登记数据作为潜在的数据来源。
