Alcohol Industry Pressure on Health Policy
Newly released government documents show that alcohol industry lobbyists actively tried to block effective alcohol policy measures in New Zealand. As reported by RNZ, the Ministry of Health only released these papers after an Ombudsman ruling. They reveal how Big Alcohol lobby groups interfered against raising alcohol taxes, reducing alcohol availability, and ending industry sponsorship of sport, even though the World Health Organisation (WHO) identifies these as the most effective ways to prevent and reduce harm due to alcohol.
Health Promoting Efforts Undermined
The documents expose how the Ministry of Health handed a draft Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) strategy to alcohol companies for feedback while keeping it from the public. In response, Spirits New Zealand dismissed estimates that 1,800 to 3,000 babies are born with FASD each year as “not credible.”
Yet, health experts and advocates such as FASD-CAN emphasised that dismissing these figures undermines prevention efforts. For example, the alcohol industry attacked the 2019 taxpayer-funded “Pre-Testie Bestie” campaign, which won five awards and effectively reached women of childbearing age with the message not to consume alcohol during pregnancy. The Health Promotion Agency reported that 70% of women who saw the campaign understood the key prevention message.
Moreover, Health New Zealand (HNZ) has confirmed that the country’s official low-risk alcohol use guidelines are outdated and significantly understate the true health risks. For instance, according to RNZ reporting, New Zealand currently advises a maximum of 15 alcoholic beverages per week for men and 10 for women. These levels far exceed the updated thresholds set by other countries.
Influence Over Alcohol Levy Spending
Leaked documents reveal how alcohol industry lobbyists, including Spirits NZ and the Brewers Association, exerted pressure on New Zealand’s Ministry of Health to influence how the NZ$16.6 million Alcohol Levy is spent, opposing evidence-based prevention strategies like the WHO SAFER measures. Industry lobbying also led to the abrupt cancellation of a government-funded project to update alcohol guidelines in line with international best practices.
Both Big Alcohol lobby groups represent the profit interests of multinational alcohol giants, such as Asahi, Bacardi Holdings, Beam Suntory, Brown-Forman, Diageo, Lion, Moet-Hennessy, Pernod Ricard, and Kirin.
The released documents also expose Big Alcohol access to draft plans for the Alcohol Levy – a $16.6 million ring-fenced fund meant for alcohol harm prevention. In fact, Spirits NZ told the Ministry of Health in a 2024 email that there was global interest from their headquarters in London and Louisville about how the levy would be spent.
RNZ reports that the Brewers Association objected to WHO’s SAFER measures being used as a framework for levy spending. They claimed prevention strategies such as limiting availability of their products or raising taxes on their own products put too much focus on reducing overall alcohol consumption, rather than targeting what they defined as “harmful” consumption.
Big Alcohol also opposed using alcohol levy funding for programmes such as legal support to challenge new alcohol licenses or replacing alcohol sponsorship in sport.
Alcohol industry pressure also halted efforts to review and update the guidelines, initiated in early 2024. According to RNZ reporting, the contract, costing approximately NZ$130,000, aimed to bring New Zealand in line with international best practices.
However, emails show that this work was abruptly halted following lobbying from the alcohol industry. In October 2024, a representative from the Brewers Association complained to Ross Bell at the Ministry of Health about Health New Zealand’s website referencing Canada’s revised guidelines and the ongoing review. Mr Bell then directed Health New Zealand to pause all work and remove related content from its platforms.
Conflict of Interest in Policy Making
Despite these revelations, Ministry of Health Deputy Director General Andrew Old defended engagement with alcohol companies, arguing that quarterly meetings with the industry did not amount to special treatment or veto power. However, he admitted Big Alcohol is motivated by profit greed, creating a clear conflict of interest in shaping policies mean to regulate the products and practices of the same industry and to protect people’s health from the harm caused by alcohol companies.
Moreover, a compelling study highlights that New Zealanders overwhelmingly oppose industry interference in alcohol policy. In fact, 71% of people in the country believe the alcohol industry should not be involved in policy development. The study stresses that effective, community-based policies, such as Auckland’s Local Alcohol Policy limiting trading hours, align with WHO’s SAFER recommendations and protect communities, while industry lobbying undermines prevention.
Clearly, the Ministry of Health has given preference to the private profit interests of Big Alcohol over the people’s interest in health and social progress.
The Need to Protect Health From Industry Interference
The documents confirm what health advocates have long warned: the alcohol industry uses its access to dilute, delay, or even derail alcohol policy initiatives to protect their profits.
With the heavy alcohol burden in New Zealand, the government has a responsibility to ensure its policies prioritise health promotion and protect people from avoidable harm. Transparency and independence in policymaking are essential for safeguarding people’s health and reducing the vast harm caused by alcohol.
Sources
RNZ (Radio New Zealand): “Ministry of Health forced to release documents showing alcohol lobby influence”
RNZ (Radio New Zealand): “Outdated alcohol guidelines understate health risks, ministry documents reveal”
RNZ (Radio New Zealand): “New rules of engagement with alcohol lobby after alarm at ‘way too friendly’ interactions”
RNZ (Radio New Zealand): “Alcohol lobbyists given input on health policies, documents reveal”