The information was uncovered by Curtin’s WA Tobacco Document Searching Program. This Program looks at confidential tobacco industry documents that have been accessible since the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) which required that millions of previously internal tobacco industry documents were to be made publicly available.

“We realised that some international tobacco companies have owned alcohol companies, so we could obtain information on this industry as well,” said Curtin’s Professor of Health Policy, Mike Daube.

These once confidential internal documents provide new evidence on the drinks industry’s concerns about possible alcohol control measures and the arguments and strategies they use to prevent any action that might impact on their sales.

Top 10 alcohol industry concerns

Key areas of concern for the Miller Brewing Company, the Beer Institute, and more broadly, the alcohol industry include:

• “Big Booze” attracting the attention as “Big Tobacco”; ·
• alcohol becoming a major issue on the public health agenda;
• alcohol seen as causing problems for the community, rather than just in “addicted individuals”;
• litigation;
• independently run, well-funded mass media programs, and;
• raising legal drinking ages.

The measures they fear most are higher taxes, tighter restrictions on advertising, marketing and sales, health warnings, blood alcohol content lowering and measures to increase legal drinking age.

They are also worried about any attempts to place “restrictions on the use of athletes/celebrities”.

Drinks industry strategies

Strategies proposed by the Miller Brewing Company and the Beer Institute to counter pressure for action range from direct opposition to diversion strategies and the development and maintenance of alliances with other industries (tobacco, food). Key strategies include: industry-run educational programs, focusing blame on individuals with a problem, the promotion of personal responsibility, denying any association between advertising and consumption.

Some of the most valuable information about drinks industry strategies came from documents such as confidential briefing books prepared by the Philip Morris company for their CEOs when Philip Morris owned the massive Miller Brewing company.

The alcohol industry was terrified of going down the same route as tobacco companies with “Big Booze” being seen in the same light as “Big Tobacco”.

The research showed that the alcohol industry tried to play down their role in contributing to alcohol problems. Far from wanting to reduce the problem, their overarching strategy is “to fight aggressively, with all available resources, against any attempt, from any quarter, to diminish our ability to manufacture our products efficiently, and market them effectively”.

The alcohol industry opposes measures such as lowering blood alcohol levels or raising the legal age of drinking for fear of losing revenue.They claim that industry developed education programs will help to address alcohol problems.

The industry, according to Professor Daube, is desperate to argue that alcohol problems occur only among a small number of “problem drinkers”.

They believe that drink driving action should focus not on general drink driving, but only on “the root of the drunk driving problem (repeat offender with a BAC of .17 and higher)”. Philip Morris briefed its CEO that “…most people can drive safely after drinking moderately; i.e. staying under .10”.

While the consequences of binge drinking are “tragic”, the answer for Miller Beer is that it “partners with many business and community prevention groups to promote responsible decision making and prevent under age drinking”.

The research, Access to Confidential Alcohol Industry Documents: from “Big Tobacco” to “Big Booze”, was published in the latest issue of the Australasian Medical Journal It was funded by Healthway, the WA Health Promotion Foundation.

Contacts: Professor Mike Daube, Professor of Health Policy, Curtin- m.daube@curtin.edu.au