Public Health, Academic Medicine, and the Alcohol Industry’s Corporate Social Responsibility Activities

摘要

We explored the emerging relationships among the alcohol industry, academic medicine, and the public health community in the context of public health theory dealing with corporate social responsibility. We reviewed sponsorship of scientific research, efforts to influence public perceptions of research, dissemination of scientific information, and industry-funded policy initiatives. To the extent that the scientific evidence supports the reduction of alcohol consumption through regulatory and legal measures, the academic community has come into increasing conflict with the views of the alcohol industry. We concluded that the alcohol industry has intensified its scientific and policy-related activities under the general framework of corporate social responsibility initiatives, most of which can be described as instrumental to the industry’s economic interests. WE EXPLORED THE EMERGING relationships between the alcohol industry, academic medicine, and the public health community. Current trends suggest increasing involvement of the alcohol beverage industry in areas that traditionally have been the main foci of public health and academic medicine, such as scientific research, alcohol education, prevention programs, and alcohol control policies. 1,2 Many of these activities can be interpreted in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that many large corporations practice. 3 We define CSR as business practices that help companies manage their economic, social, and environmental impacts as well as their relationships in key areas of influence, such as the marketplace, the supply chain, the community, and the public policy arena. To provide a context for an evaluation of the alcohol industry’s CSR activities, we reviewed the most prominent health issues that threaten the viability of the alcohol industry as a whole and that represent points of contention with public health and academic medicine. We have described the industry’s CSR activities and the risks involved for the academic community. We have provided an evaluation of the theoretical, scientific, and public health challenges that have emerged from industry involvement in alcohol-related health issues.