Ethics in the Alcohol Industry

Also by Simon J. Robinson

ENGINEERING, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
(with Ross Dixon and Krisen Moodley)
ETHICS FOR LIVING AND WORKING (editor)
SPIRITUALITY, ETHICS AND CARE
Ethics in the Alcohol
Industry

Simon J. Robinson
and
Alexandra J. Kenyon
© Simon J. Robinson and Alexandra J. Kenyon 2009
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-21988-5
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Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2009
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ISBN 978-1-349-30537-7 ISBN 978-0-230-25058-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230250581
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Robinson, Simon, 1951–
Ethics in the alcohol industry / Simon J. Robinson and Alexandra J. Kenyon.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-349-30537-7 (alk. paper)
1. Alcoholic beverage industry—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Drinking
of alcoholic beverages—Social aspects. 3. Social responsibility of
business. I. Kenyon, Alexandra J., 1966– II. Title
HD9350.5.R63 2009
174’96631—dc22 2009013634
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
Contents

List of Tables, Figures and Boxes viii

Preface x
Acknowledgements xii
List of Abbreviations xiii

Introduction 1

1 History of Alcohol, Values and Legislation 8

Introduction 8
The beginnings – did beer bring about social cohesion? 8
From the Norman Conquest to the early 1700s 10
The gin epidemic – the realization of addiction 13
The Beer Act 1830 and the growth of the
Temperance Movement 16
Changing drinking habits during the World Wars 20
Conclusion 22

2 Social Responsibilities and the Alcohol Industry 23

Introduction 23
A global view 24
Is alcohol a burden on the world’s population? 26
European alcohol strategy 33
Commentary on the European strategy 40
Alcohol harm reduction strategy for England 41
Safe, sensible and secure 44
Conclusion 48

3 Advertising and Marketing Alcohol 49

Introduction 49
Alcohol advertising regulations across the world 50
Enforcement or self-regulation? 54
Alcohol and advertising: government strategy
for England and Wales 59
British Code of Advertising Practice 60
Alcohol advertising spend 64

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vi Contents

Sponsorship 71
Government information advertisements 72
Conclusion 74
Appendix 3.1: BCAP TV Advertising Standard Code 75

4 Ethics and Alcohol 78

The ethics of public policy 78
The stewardship model 81
Critique and development 85
Responsibility 90
Corporate virtues 92
No ordinary commodity? 94
The alcohol industry and conflict of interest 95
The responsibility of the alcohol industry 98
Conclusion 101

5 Young People, Social Scene and Popular Culture 103

Introduction 103
Europe 105
Alcohol in the mind and in the body 108
Communicating with young people 109
Binge drinking, drinking to get drunk
and extreme drinking 113
Popular culture and celebrities 116
Moral development 117
Conclusion 118

6 Religion and Alcohol 119

Background 119
Judaism and Christianity 120
Later Christianity 130
Islam 132
Bacchus 138
Conclusion 138

7 Addiction and Ethics 140

Defining alcoholism 140
Responsibility 147
Imputability 148
Alcoholics Anonymous 155
Conclusion 163
 Contents vii

8 Ethics and Alcohol in the Twenty-first Century 165

Corporate responsibility 165
Stakeholder theory, ethics and social responsibility 169
The alcohol industry 172
Responsibilities 175
Ethics and responsibility 178
Conclusion 184

References 186
Index 198
List of Tables, Figures and Boxes

Tables
2.1 International BAC limits mg/ml 36
2.2 Standard alcohol units, worldwide 39
2.3 Example of variation of ethanol units, by country 39
2.4 EU beer duty rates 40
3.1 Alcohol advertising policies of France, Poland and the UK 57
3.2 Alcohol Advertising Standard Codes Amendments, 2005 65
3.3 Advertising spend, 2004 68
3.4 Sales by value, 2004 69
3.5 Magners’ advertising spend 70

Figures

2.1 HM Revenue and Customs Revenue 2007–08 (£ million)

(provisional) 24
2.2 Burden of disease attributable to selected leading risk
factors, DALYs in each sub-region (%), 2000 27
2.3 Burden of disease attributable to alcohol, various countries 28
2.4 World deaths attributable to selected leading risk factors,
2000 29
2.5 The numbers affected by alcohol-related harm and how
much it costs 30
2.6 Per capita alcohol consumption in selected European and
other countries (litres of pure alcohol per inhabitant)
among adults from 15-years-old 34
3.1 EU public response to the banning of alcohol advertising 53
3.2 Banning alcohol advertising, by country 53

Boxes
2.1 Best Bar None by Far 46
3.1 Complaints about alcohol advertisements 61
3.2 Alcohol advertising winning awards and our hearts 66

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 List of Tables, Figures and Boxes ix

3.3 You wouldn’t want to start a night like this so why end it
that way (male version) 74
4.1 Brown-Forman 87
5.1 Talk to Frank 110
5.2 BII Schools Project – how the UK alcohol industry gets
involved 112
7.1 The original twelve Steps, as published by Alcoholics
Anonymous 156
8.1 ‘Alcohol and Responsibility’ – Westminster Health Forum
Key Note Seminar 179
Preface

I was brought up in a Yorkshire village in the 1950s. Church, chapel, pri-

mary school and cricket club kept the village alive and gave the villagers
shared meaning, and alcohol did not play a huge part. There was the
occasional excess, but a village of less than 2,000 people meant complete
transparency, and anything out of the ordinary was soon spotted. On
the whole, people preferred not to be spotted. Alcohol was not frowned
upon. It simply did not figure that much in a place where you had to be
careful with your money and did not have time to get drunk. In my first
profession – psychiatric social work – alcohol was at the centre of life.
We sat in groups twice a day, each session lasting one-and-a-half hours,
each reflecting on the effect of alcohol in the lives of patients, and what
they would replace the empty bottle with. Alcohol here was a matter of
life and death, and I remember to this day an animated conversation
with a very articulate man, who had become a friend, about the effect of
alcohol on his liver. The next week he was dead.
In this book, we hope that the reflections on alcohol, and the ethical
issues that surround it, will be more than merely an academic con-
versation. The aim is to focus on the meaning that alcohol makes for
individuals and communities and, beneath that, on ethical identity and
the importance of responsibility for all concerned with alcohol. The first
man to help me see something about responsibility and community lived
close to me in that first Yorkshire village – my grandfather, Hardy Rhodes.
Joiner, undertaker, builder, choirmaster, organist and maths lecturer, he
has influenced many of my attempts to develop responsibility even to
this day. It is to his memory that I dedicate this book.

Advent 2008 SIMON ROBINSON

I have lived in, worked for and researched the licensed retail and alcohol
industry for many years. My first job was as a waitress in a gastro pub and
I enjoyed the convivial atmosphere, the banter and the camaraderie – so
much so that I kept returning to it, working in local boozers and pre-
club bars. When I changed careers and moved to a new town, I needed
to establish a social network with fun loving people: what better place
to do that than in a pub, after work on a Friday night. Pubs have a
long history of being happy, welcoming spaces where communities are

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 Preface xi

brought together, friendships are formed, loved ones are found and lost
ones mourned. When the values of community spirit, friendship and
warmth are at the forefront, and alcohol secondary, a wonderful evening
can be shared. I dedicate this book to my husband Steve (who I met in
a pub), and Kelly, Lynn and Kevin, with whom I have shared many
memorable times.

Advent 2008 ALEXANDRA J. KENYON

Acknowledgements

We thank the following for advice and for permission to reproduce

material:

The Advertising Standards Authority

The British Beer & Pub Association
Professor Cary L. Cooper, CBE Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External Relations),
Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health,
Lancaster University
Eurobarometer
The Cabinet Office: Reduction Strategy for England
The European Advertising Standards Alliance Brussels
The International Center for Alcohol Policies
The Stationery Office (TSO)
The World Health Organization

For his support and advice, we would like to extend our thanks to Pro-
fessor Cary L. Cooper, CBE, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External Relations),
Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health, Lan-
caster University. Our thanks also go to the Cabinet Office for permission
to present Figure 2.5, and the European Advertising Standards Alliance,
Brussels, for Tables 2.2 and 3.1. The Cabinet Office, the European
Advertising Standards Alliance, Brussels, and the International Center
for Alcohol Policies have also been the sources for general information
referred to in the text.

For the design and artwork of the front cover to this volume, we gratefully
acknowledge Toby Montague BA (Hons), Graphic Arts and Design Stu-
dent at Leeds Metropolitan University, with the support of the Facilitator
of Design Ian Truelove, Principal Lecturer, Leeds School of Contemporary
Art and Graphic Design, Leeds Metropolitan University.

xii
List of Abbreviations

AA Alcoholics Anonymous
ABV alcohol by volume
ADS all-day session
AHRSE Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England
ASA Advertising Standards Authority
BAC blood alcohol concentration
BACC broadcaster compliance team
BACP Committee of Advertising Practice (broadcast)
CAP Committee of Advertising Practice (non-broadcast)
CR corporate responsibility
CSR corporate social responsibility
DALY disability adjusted life
DHSS Department of Health and Social Security
DISCUS Distilled Spirits Council for the United States
DSM Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
EESC European Economic and Social Committee
EFRD European Forum for Responsible Drinking
EGTA European Group on Television Advertising
IAS Institute of Alcohol Studies
IBLF International Business Leaders Forum
ICAP International Center for Alcohol Policies
ICD International Classification of Diseases
NGO non-governmental organization
NHS National Health Service
Ofcom Office of Communications
PHSE personal, health and social education
PND penalty notice for disorder
SHT stakeholder theory
YFJ European Youth Forum
YLD number of years a person has physical or mental disability,
or poor health (known as ‘years lost’)
YLL potential life-span of a person that has prematurely been
cut short

xiii