The Alcohol Issues Podcast is an original production by Movendi International. It’s a show about current alcohol issues of global importance. Through in-depth conversations with policy makers, community leaders and scientists, we explore alcohol policy issues, discuss landmark scientific studies, and expose the alcohol industry.
BackgroundAlcohol’s harm on cardiovascular health is arguably the area where scientific knowledge and public awareness have progressed most slowly in the last decade. For example, public health organizations and health professionals working on cardiovascular issues have been much slower to address alcohol harm in their work, compared to the area of cancer prevention, control and treatment. In addition to inaction, the myth of alcohol’s benefits for cardiovascular health persists. And in policy making processes this misunderstanding is a critical impediment to accelerating action on alcohol as public health priority. But this is changing. Today’s show is exploring why change is needed and how it can be further accelerated.
The Guests: Season 2, Episode 1In this episode of The Alcohol Issues Podcast, host Maik Dünnbier welcomes Mark Petticrew and May van Schalkwyk.
Mark is Professor of Public Health Evaluation in the Department of Social and Environmental Health Research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is Director of the NIHR Public Health Research Unit.
May is Specialist Registrar in Public Health and (NIHR) National Institute for Health Research Doctoral Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, researching the commercial determinants of health.
The Discussion: How the alcohol industry misrepresents the truth about alcohol and cardiovascular healthOur guests are two of the authors of a very important study called “Analysis of the Accuracy and Completeness of Cardiovascular Health Information on Alcohol Industry-Funded Websites”.
Together, we take an in-depth look at how alcohol industry-funded websites mis-represent the evidence on cardiovascular health.
The topic of alcohol’s impact on cardiovascular health is important in three aspects:
The Alcohol Industry and the Social Aspects and Public Relations Organisations it funds, have been shown to mis-represent the risk of alcohol with respect to cancer and pregnancy.
Therefore, the assumption seems plausible that Big Alcohol would do the same with regards to alcohol and cardiovascular health. In their recent study, researchers around Mark Petticrew and May van Schalkwyk investigated the assumption that the alcohol industry would position alcohol as ‘heart healthy’ to further undermine public perceptions of risks from alcohol consumption.
In this conversation we talk about the study, its findings and implications. The conversation provides an update about what scientists actually know about alcohol’s link to cardiovascular disease.
And we take a broader and more detailed look at the strategies and tactics of the alcohol industry to frame and misrepresent the effects of their products on human health. For instance, we talk about what we know about alcohol industry misrepresentation of alcohol’s link to cancer. And we discuss what to do with the findings of the study.
Resources for the episodeOn Movendi International's News Center, you can find multiple resource on the topics covered in the conversation, such as the link between alcohol and cancer, the link between alcohol and heart disease, the strategies of the alcohol industry, and other research projects of Mark and May relevant to this conversation.
"Alcohol Industry-Funded Websites Mis-Represent the Evidence on Cardiovascular Health"
"Alcohol, Cardiovascular Disease and Industry Funding"
"How Big Alcohol Misleads Public About Alcohol And Cancer"
"The Strategies of Big Alcohol: Downplaying the Risk of Cancer"
"Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease – Understanding the Scientific State of the Art"
"Sludges and Dark Nudges in Big Alcohol’s CSR Campaigns”
FeedbackYour feedback, questions, and suggestions for future topics and guests is most welcome. Please get in touch at: Maik.Duennbier@Movendi.Ngo . You can also reach me on twitter and find my contact details in the show notes.
You are most welcome to follow Movendi International and Maik Dünnbier on Twitter, too.
Master Manipulators: Exposing Big Alcohol Lobbying in Scottish and British Parliaments
The State of the World’s Children: How can we provide support to children growing up in households with alcohol problems?
A Review of Alcohol Policy Highlights in 2023 and an Outlook for Alcohol Policy Trends in 2024
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New Report – Even Small Amounts of Alcohol Can Be Harmful to Blood Pressure and Lead to Hypertension
Achieving the SDGs Through Alcohol Policy: European Countries Ignore The Potential
A Human Rights Based Approach to Alcohol Policy: the WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan and Beyond
Lessons From Big Tobacco: How and Why Big Alcohol Created Social Aspects Public Relations Organizations
How Big Alcohol Derails Alcohol Prevention Efforts in the Netherlands
How Big Alcohol Uses the World Trade Organization to Influence Global Alcohol Policy
Big Alcohol’s Attack on the EU’s Beating Cancer Plan - A Case Study
Alcohol’s Forgotten Social Harm: Children Growing Up In Households With Alcohol Problems
Alcohol Policy and the World Health Organization: What Happened at the Recent Executive Board Meeting
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Brand New OECD Report: The Economic and Health System Case for Alcohol Policy
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The Inner Workings of the Public Health Alcohol Act In Ireland: From MUP To Changing the Alcohol Norm
Commercial Determinants of Health and the WHO: Conflicts of Interest at the New WHO Foundation
Understanding Alcohol Taxation: Design, Potential and Window of Opportunity
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