Alcohol pricing decision sparks walk-out by health groups

Independent health groups involved in steering discussions on government alcohol policy have walked out following the decision to ditch plans for minimum unit pricing.

Cancer Research UK, the Faculty of Public Health and the UK Health Forum announced yesterday they were withdrawing from the government’s Alcohol Network of the Responsibility Deal in outrage at the decision – even though minimum unit pricing (MUP) was not an area ever covered by the Deal.

“MUP has fallen victim to a concerted and shameful campaign of lobbying by sections of the drinks industry who are putting profits before health and public safety”

NGO statement

“It is perfectly clear that MUP has fallen victim to a concerted and shameful campaign of lobbying by sections of the drinks industry who are putting profits before health and public safety,” the groups said in a joint statement.

Professor Nick Sheron, co-chair of the Responsibility Deal alcohol network, also quit in protest at the decision.

“The key thing now will be to see if other people follow suit,” one drinks industry insider involved in the Deal told The Grocer. “I can’t say I’m particularly surprised they have walked out although it’s interesting that they’ve done it on MUP, when this was never a Responsibility Deal issue.

“I think we can survive as a group, we just need to get on and prove that we are making good with our promises. We have already showed that with things such as the one billion-unit reduction pledge we can make a huge difference much faster than regulation could have done.”

Public health

The Responsibility Deal was set up by the government in 2011 with 170 signatories including retailers, suppliers and NGOs committing to voluntary pledges to make food and drink healthier.

Richard Evans, president of PepsiCo UK and Ireland, and a member of the Responsibility Deal’s food network high-level steering group, said: “The food and drink industry is vital to good public health, providing people with ready access to nutritious, affordable and safe food through a voluntary approach which enables companies to be flexible in their response.

“The Responsibility Deal has allowed government to set a common direction on public health issues faster than a legislative approach would have done.”

However, the latest split casts the biggest shadow over the Deal since its early days in March 2011, when a string of health groups and NGOs walked out during discussions. The Deal was the brainchild of then health secretary Andrew Lansley.

Which? announced today its chief executive Sue Davies had no plans to quit the food network high-level steering group, but renewed its call for companies that have not signed up to the Responsibility Deal to be named and shamed.