Event Report: Unveiling the Alcohol Taxation Advocacy Launchpad

Alcohol Taxation Advocacy Launchpad

From People and For People – Powering Effective Alcohol Taxation Advocacy

On December 8, 2025 Movendi International hosted a virtual event to unveil the Alcohol Taxation Advocacy Launchpad, bringing together advocates and experts from Movendi, as well as Sri Lanka, Brazil, Ghana, and Vital Strategies to accelerate momentum for alcohol taxation reforms worldwide. The event introduced Movendi’s new global advocacy resource hub – designed from people and for people, equipping alcohol taxation advocates with evidence, tools, and strategies to drive impactful, values-based alcohol taxation advocacy.

This report captures the key insights, highlights, and lessons shared during the session.

Event Background

Alcohol taxation is the most powerful alcohol policy solution. It delivers a quadruple win: saving lives, strengthening economies, raising revenue for health and development priorities, and promoting social justice. Yet, despite overwhelming scientific evidence and strong public support, alcohol taxation remains underused in many countries – in part due to aggressive alcohol industry interference, myths, and misleading claims. At the same time, alcohol taxation advocates have achieved remarkable progress in countries around the world, overcoming industry interference and achieving alcohol tax reform.

Movendi International and partners have worked for more than a decade to elevate alcohol taxation on global and national agendas. Today, advocates around the world are driving reforms that protect communities, reduce inequalities, and promote sustainable development.

The Alcohol Taxation Advocacy Launchpad brings this work together – from people and for people – driven by lived experience, centring values-based communication, and equipping advocates with the strategies and evidence needed to turn public support into policy action.

Event Highlights and Key Insights

1. The Launchpad Vision: A People-Powered Advocacy Hub

Maik Dünnbier emphasized that the Launchpad is built to make alcohol taxation advocacy values-based, evidence-informed, strategic, adaptable, and impactful. Designed as a living resource, it integrates global evidence, local experience, and civil society know-how to power and elevate advocacy across contexts.

Highlights include:

• Global advocacy timeline and lessons from a decade of systematic alcohol taxation advocacy,
• Country success stories from Sri Lanka, Ghana, and Brazil,
• Tools to counter alcohol industry myths without repeating their claims,
• Economic analyses on net alcohol harm costs and revenue potential from raising alcohol taxes,
• A world map of best practice alcohol taxation country cases,
• Public opinion evidence from a diverse range of countries, and
• Resources to center lived experience and social values in advocacy.

2. Country Experiences Show Advocacy Momentum Across Regions

Speakers from Sri Lanka, Brazil, and Ghana shared powerful examples of how civil society leadership, coalition building, evidence translation, and strategic communication have driven alcohol tax reforms – even in challenging political environments.

Their experiences underscore that political commitment grows when advocates align evidence, social values, and public demand for alcohol policy change.

3. Public Support Is Strong — and Underused

Vital Strategies presented nationally representative opinion polling that documents overwhelming public concern about alcohol harms and widespread support for raising alcohol taxes. These insights debunk alcohol industry narratives and underpin alcohol taxation advocacy by demonstrating that people support alcohol policy action by their governments, including raising alcohol taxes.

Across countries, respondents are concerned about wide availability of alcohol and alcohol’s health and social harms, such as cancer and violence. Even more importantly:

• Fiscal policies, including tax increases, are popular.
• People mistrust the alcohol industry and expect accountability and government action.
• Concerns extend beyond health to violence, affordability, and community safety.

These findings help shape advocacy messages that resonate and move policymakers.

Summary of Key Points per Speaker

Maik Dünnbier – Movendi International

Introducing the Alcohol Taxation Advocacy Launchpad and the Global Momentum for Alcohol Taxation

Maik presented the vision and structure of the Launchpad, grounded in a decade of global alcohol taxation advocacy experience. Key points included:

• WHO has documented the power of taxation for over 15+ years, yet implementation lags.
• Movendi and partners have achieved major wins, from UN processes to national reforms – showing that progress is possible.
• The Launchpad provides tools to address the implementation gap, counter alcohol industry interference, and enhance values-based advocacy.
• Five success elements are key for impactful advocacy:
  1. Lead with values,
  2. Center public concern about alcohol harms and support for alcohol policy action by governments, such as raising alcohol taxes,
  3. Provide cutting-edge evidence,
  4. Expose commercial drivers of alcohol harm, and
  5. Communicate the benefits of alcohol tax reform.

Maik identified the two biggest strategic opportunities now:

• Bring public opinion evidence and community voices into policymaking, and
  • Link alcohol taxation benefits to what people care about – safety, children’s wellbeing, development, violence prevention, and the SDGs (concrete aspects of it).

Sampath De Seram – ADIC Sri Lanka

Civil Society Leadership, Sustained Advocacy and Policy Wins

Sampath showcased Sri Lanka’s long-term civil society leadership in alcohol policy and recent alcohol tax victories:

• Success in strengthening the NATA Act, including an alcohol advertising ban, regulating vending machines, sponsorships, and alcohol impaired driving counter-measures.
• Multiple alcohol tax increases: +20% (2020), +14% (2024), +6% (2025), leading to reduced production, consumption, harm, and increased government revenue.

Sampath highlighted impactful advocacy strategies:

• Community mobilization and youth engagement,
  • Media campaigns and public pressure,
  • Political mapping and direct engagement with law makers and government officials, including by community members,
  • Strong evidence use, including opinion polls and trend analysis,
  • Continuous alcohol industry monitoring and rapid exposure of interference tactics by ADIC and community members,

Sampath’s lesson: Sustained civil society vigilance keeps alcohol taxation on the political agenda, even when alcohol industry interference and opposition rises.

Juliana Ferreira – ACT Health Promotion, Brazil

Building Momentum and Using Reform Windows During Brazil’s Tax Reform

Juliana described how ACT Health Promotion leveraged a rare political moment for nationwide tax reform to elevate alcohol taxation:

• Progress depended on aligning solid evidence, strategic communication, and a clear political pathway.
• ACT built broad, conflict-of-interest-free coalitions across health, gender equality, academia, and public safety sectors.
• ACT adopted the 3S framing – alcohol as an issue of public health (Saúde), Social justice (Solidariedade), and Sustainability (Sustentabilidade) – shifting narratives from “tax increases” to “protecting people”.

Tools and approaches that power ACT’s advocacy:

• Evidence from studies, polls, and rapid assessments,
• Simple, relatable messages,
• Rapid response to alcohol industry interference, including during Brazil’s methanol crisis,
• Strategic engagement with Ministries of Health, Finance, Justice, and legislators, and
• Continuous monitoring of congressional debates.

Labram Musa – VAST Ghana

Evidence-Driven Advocacy and Coalition Power Behind Ghana’s Tax Win

Labram described how Ghana passed the 2023 Excise Duty Amendment Act, significantly increasing alcohol taxes:

• Ghanaian authorities require locally generated evidence, so VAST produced national analyses on alcohol harm, economic cost, and alcohol tax revenue impacts.
• Developed policy briefs linking alcohol taxation to fiscal sustainability, health financing, and Universal Health Coverage.
• Sustained engagement with:
  • Ministry of Finance,
  • Ghana Revenue Authority,
  • Ministry of Health, and
  • Food and Drugs Authority.
• Built strong coalitions with WHO, UNDP, UN Interagency Task Force on NCDs, REEP, Movendi International, and local CSOs.
• Monitored and countered alcohol industry narratives with evidence.
• Reframed taxation from a “revenue tool” to a health-promoting, development-accelerating policy.

Dr. Nalin Singh Negi – Vital Strategies

Public Support for Alcohol Taxation Across RESET Countries

Key insights from RESET opinion polling:

• 82% of respondents across countries see alcohol harm as a significant problem.
• Major concerns vary (health vs. violence), guiding tailored messaging.
• Most people say alcohol is easy to access and too cheap.
• Strong support exists for fiscal policies, including tax increases.
• Alcohol companies are widely mistrusted; most believe the government should hold the alcohol industry accountable.

Nalin highlighted how Vital Strategies works with partners to turn public support into political commitment through evidence-based campaigns and aligned advocacy strategies. In this context, public opinion matters because it:

• Provides legitimacy for government action,
  • Helps shape communication strategy, and
  • Strengthens advocates’ ability to counter alcohol industry interference.

What Advocates Can Take Away: Strategic Insights and Practical Tools for National Alcohol Taxation Campaigns

A defining strength of the Alcohol Taxation Advocacy Launchpad is that it offers advocates a blueprint for real-world change. Across all contributions, several insights stand out as especially powerful, actionable, and transferable for national-level alcohol taxation advocacy.

Below are the most relevant strategic lessons, organised by source and grounded in the event’s presentations and discussions.

1. A Complete Advocacy Framework for Alcohol Taxation (Movendi International)

Maik’s presentation provides advocates with a ready-made architecture for effective alcohol tax advocacy.

Key elements include:

• A decade-long global political pathway that aligns national advocacy with international momentum.
• A comprehensive resource suite – from countering alcohol industry myths to modelling tax systems and a compelling over of the benefits of alcohol taxation and cases of country best practices around the world – designed to fill common advocacy gaps.
• A strategic shift toward values-based, people-centered advocacy narratives and frames, grounded in what matters to communities: health, safety, fairness, dignity, and development.
• Practical guidance on linking alcohol taxation to the SDGs and to lived experience to build broad social legitimacy.

Why this empowers advocates:

This is the first integrated, global resource system built specifically for alcohol taxation advocacy – offering clarity, strategy, tools, and coherent narrative guidance.

2. Evidence-Driven, Community-Rooted Advocacy (Sri Lanka)

Sampath’s contribution demonstrates that long-term, strategically organised civil society leadership can shift national policy, even in politically complex environments.

Key transferable insights:

• Multi-level coalition building across communities, religious leaders, professionals, politicians, and youth.
• Use of clear roadmaps, defined roles, and continuous review to maintain momentum.
• Mobilisation of young people as a powerful voice for health and social justice.
• Turning alcohol industry interference and political hurdles into opportunities to build stronger public engagement.

Why this empowers advocates:

Sri Lanka shows a proven model for strategic organising – indispensable for contexts where alcohol industry power and political inertia are strong.

3. Narrative Innovation and Political Agility (Brazil)

Juliana’s framing and strategy provide advocates with communication and political advocacy tools.

Key transferable insights:

• The “3S” framing (Health, Social Justice, Sustainability) repositions alcohol taxation beyond health into mainstream political priorities.
• Simple, memorable public messages demonstrate how advocates can communicate complex evidence with clarity and urgency.
• Rapid response to crises (like the methanol poisoning outbreak) shows how advocates can use moments of public attention to accelerate reform.
• Strategic political mapping, coalition building, and deep engagement with ministries and legislators.

Why this empowers advocates:

Brazil’s example shows how to make alcohol taxation politically relevant and publicly resonant – essential for creating policy windows and influencing legislators.

4. Government Trust-Building Through Local Evidence (Ghana)

Labram offered one of the clearest demonstrations of how rigorous local evidence, strategically deployed, can move finance and revenue authorities.

Key transferable insights:

• Producing national data on economic costs, harm burdens, and fiscal impacts builds credibility and aligns alcohol taxation advocates with government priorities.
• Sustained engagement with the Ministry of Finance, Revenue Authority, and Health Ministry increases institutional trust and long-term policy feasibility.
• Countering alcohol industry misinformation with evidence keeps the advocacy agenda grounded and legitimate.
• Effective use of broad coalitions (WHO, UNDP, UN NCD Task Force, Movendi, and national CSOs) strengthens both technical and political influence.

Why this empowers advocates:

Ghana demonstrates how to move from advocacy “at the margins” to advocacy at the centre of fiscal and development policymaking.

5. Public Opinion as Strategic Asset (Vital Strategies)

Nalin provided evidence that national alcohol taxation advocates need for social norming: quantitative proof that the public wants alcohol policy action and supports raising alcohol taxes.

Key transferable insights:

• 82% of respondents across RESET countries view alcohol harm as a major concern.
• Raising alcohol taxes is popular.
• Public mistrust of the alcohol industry boosts support for alcohol taxation and other government measures.

Why this empowers advocates:

Public opinion provides political cover. Advocates can demonstrate that alcohol taxation is not only effective and fair but also popular – backed by the voices of the people.

Why This Event Matters for Advocates: A Cohesive, Transferable Set of Advocacy Tools

Taken together, the insights from all speakers provide national advocates with:

1. A strategic blueprint for building and sustaining alcohol taxation advocacy initiatives.
2. A modern, evidence-based framing resource for advocacy messaging that resonates with real public concerns.
3. Proven tactics for countering alcohol industry interference and navigating complex political environments.
4. Practical examples of how to organise, mobilise, and coordinate diverse coalitions.
5. Tools to build trust with finance ministries through evidence and partnership.
6. Public opinion data that transforms advocacy into a popular cause.
7. Real-world proof that reform is possible – even in the face of resistance.

In sum, the event offered a unique, globally-informed, and highly applicable set of lessons that can genuinely strengthen alcohol taxation advocacy in any national context.

Conclusion

The Alcohol Taxation Advocacy Launchpad event demonstrated the growing global momentum behind alcohol taxation – powered by evidence, lived experience, and strong public support.

Across regions, advocates are:

• Exposing alcohol industry interference against government action to raise alcohol taxes,
• Building broad coalitions for alcohol tax advocacy,
• Strengthening political engagement,
• Using economic and public opinion data to shift narratives, and
• Connecting alcohol taxation to development, equity, and community wellbeing.

The new Launchpad provides a comprehensive platform to support this advocacy work, helping advocates turn public support into policy change.

Movendi International invites advocates, policymakers, and partners worldwide to explore the Launchpad, use its tools, share its stories, and join a powerful community committed to advancing alcohol tax reforms and building healthier, fairer societies.