Research into the likely effectiveness of the Responsibility Deal alcohol pledges has suggested there will be little impact on harmful alcohol consumption. Findings from the two reports produced by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) say the Deal's pledges are mainly ineffective, or were already taking place.
The research includes two reports; one analysed all publicly available data about organisations’ plans and progress towards achieving key alcohol pledges - see here. The second was a systematic review of international evidence about the different types of interventions proposed by the organisations involved - see here.
LSHTM say 75% of the pledges aimed to provide consumer information and choice, which they say have limited effectiveness. The other 25% included measures such as reducing alcohol content in products, but there are complexities around the likely impacts of unit reduction approaches, as separate research by the Sheffield Alcohol Research Group recently highlighted.
The press release said that pledge progress reports from industry organisations were most often found to be poor quality, incomplete or unavailable, whilst only 11% of alcohol pledge-related activities were found to be a direct result of the Responsibility Deal. Lead author Dr Cécile Knai, from the Policy Innovation Research Unit at the LSHTM, said:
“We know that effective voluntary agreements are based on clearly-defined, evidence-based and quantifiable targets, which require partners to go beyond ‘business as usual’, and penalties for not delivering the pledges. However the alcohol pledges of the Public Health Responsibility Deal haven’t met these criteria."
Dr Knai also said interventions "which change the market environment to make alcohol less available and more expensive" were more effective, reflecting most of the public health field's desire for minimum unit pricing.
Celebrating success?
However the research goes against the grain of messages from both Government and of course sections of the alcohol industry. At an event that took place last month, Minister for Public Health Jane Ellison gave a talk to around 60 Responsibility Deal partners, 'celebrating the achievements of the Deal across the four networks'. See the presentation here [pdf].
Those such as the Portman Group, the responsibility body for drinks producers in the UK, have also vocally championed the Responsibility Deal and voluntary action alongside other sections of the alcohol industry.
Writing in Off-License news, drinks journalist Phil Mellows responded to the recent LSHTM and Sheffield critiques suggesting neither 'properly understands the drinks industry', which he argues does have a legitimate role in reducing alcohol harm. Mellows also says there are examples of pledges that "go beyond business as usual", such as the recent pledge to cease production of cans of high-strength beers and ciders containing more than four units. Either way, the fate of Responsibility Deal certainly hangs in wait of the forthcoming general election results.
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