Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to safeguard the integrity and credibility of Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (HADP) by ensuring that decisions and activities are free from undue influence by the alcohol industry or organisations funded by it. This policy aligns with guidance from Alcohol Focus Scotland (AFS), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and Scottish Government recommendations.
Policy Statement
HADP will not accept funding, resources, or enter into partnerships with organisations funded by the alcohol industry. This includes:
- Direct financial contributions.
- Sponsorship of events, campaigns, or materials.
- Collaborative projects, policy development or prevention activity.
Exceptions may only be considered where:
- No alternative resource exists.
- The material or funding is assessed as unlikely to compromise public health objectives and does not promote industry interests, biased or restricted perspectives on approaches to reducing alcohol related harm.
- Approval is granted by the HADP Strategy Group following a formal risk review.
Rationale
- The alcohol industry’s primary goal is to increase sales and consumption, which conflicts with HADP’s mission to reduce alcohol-related harm, including harms associated with commercial determinants of health. HADP acknowledges that practice must be professional, evidence based and ethical, and therefore will not work with companies that create poverty and harm from substances.
- Industry-funded organisations often promote measures such as ‘responsible drinking’ campaigns, which lack evidence of effectiveness and may undermine proven strategies like minimum unit pricing, marketing restrictions, and availability controls. ADPs are expected to make decisions relating to the evidence base, and not relating to messaging influenced by commercial interests.
- WHO and AFS strongly advise against industry involvement in public health policy or prevention programmes, due to inherent conflict, including risks of policy obstruction, dilution, and delay.
Scope
This policy applies to:
- Funding and Grants: HADP will not accept funding from industry influenced organisations. Some grant giving trusts receive alcohol-industry related funding either directly or indirectly for the purposes of supporting local initiatives. To safeguard public health objectives, HADP will seek confirmation that any particular trust is independent of industry influence, and that local action related to reducing alcohol-related harm will not be compromised.
- Educational and Promotional Materials: HADP will not recommend materials sponsored or produced by the alcohol industry.
- Partnerships and Collaborations: HADP will not collaborate with organisations whose governance or funding is influenced by the alcohol industry.
HADP does not criticise community groups who feel they have to access funding from these sources.
Implementation
- All staff and partners must declare any potential conflicts of interest related to alcohol industry funding.
- HADP will maintain a register of interests for transparency.
- Decisions on exceptions require formal approval by the HADP Strategy Group.
- Where partners are unclear if an organisation is alcohol industry funded, partners are welcome to contact HADP for advice, by emailing nhsh.highlandadp@nhs.scot
Further Information
There is a range of research regarding industry practice are available, including these recent articles: