This article is part of a special issue of the International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research on Alcohol Prevention Research and Policy Development in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs). FORUT and Movendi supported the publication of articles from researchers from LMICs for the special issue.
Amul and Etter found that transnational and national alcohol and tobacco corporations used various tactics to exercise their power and influence the policy process for alcohol and tobacco control in the Philippines and Singapore. Both industries were involved in lobbying, litigation or threat of litigation, revolving doors and marketing to exercise their instrumental or coercive power. Both industries utilized structural power to set the agenda by exploiting their market dominance, promoting private-public partnerships and self-regulation of alcohol marketing. In the Philippines, the tobacco industry benefitted from regulatory capture. To shape preferences through their discursive power, both industries tapped framing tactics, corporate social responsibility and public-private partnerships. In both countries, they found that being less regulated, the alcohol industry retains an advantage over the tobacco industry.
Amul and Etter argued that to counter these industries’ power over health policy, there is a need (1) for mechanisms that help policymakers prioritize health over commercial interests and manage conflicts of interest amid power asymmetries within countries and between governments and corporations and, (2) for intersectoral collaborations to monitor the alcohol and tobacco industries’ tactics and raise public awareness about their political strategies.
Authors: Gianna Gayle Herrera Amul and Jean-Francois Etter
Publisher: International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research
Year of publication: 2023
Recommended citation: Amul GG & Etter J-F. (2023). Examining the power of the alcohol and tobacco industries in policymaking: Lessons and challenges for the Philippines and Singapore. International Journal of Alcohol and Drug Research, 12(S1), S37–S51.
Read full article here: https://doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.417