Alcohol lobby pushes back as WHO hardens stance on drinking
The World Health Organisation’s claim that there is no safe level of alcohol has triggered fierce resistance from the global drinks trade. Previously, physician and vintner Dr Laura Catena has challenged what she calls misinformation, arguing that credible science shows moderate wine consumption may offer health benefits.
As reported by Reuters, industry groups from Belgium’s brewers to Mexico’s Tequila producers and companies such as Heineken mounted a concerted campaign this summer to soften or remove references to WHO-backed alcohol controls in a new United Nations health agreement.
The first draft, published in May, had included commitments to raise alcohol taxes and restrict availability. By September, after months of lobbying, these had been diluted to a polite suggestion that governments might “consider” such measures “in line with national circumstances”.
The WHO said the process had been “affected by intense lobbying” from the alcohol sector. Dag Rekve, the agency’s technical policy officer, told Reuters that health harms from alcohol at the population level were “consistent and well documented”.
The industry insists otherwise. Julian Braithwaite, chief executive of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, has made clear that members want to “take back control of the alcohol debate”, a telling phrase that shows the strategy at play.
Scottish deaths fall but inequalities remain
Meanwhile, the latest statistics from the National Records of Scotland show 1,185 alcohol-specific deaths registered in 2024, a 7% fall on the previous year and the lowest total since 2019. Adjusted for age, this equates to 20.9 deaths per 100,000 people, down from 22.5 in 2023.
Men accounted for two-thirds of these deaths, with a rate more than double that of women. People in Scotland’s most deprived areas were 4.5 times more likely to die from alcohol-specific causes than those in the least deprived. Glasgow City and Dundee still recorded mortality rates well above the national average.
Tax and pricing a contested solution
Policymakers across the UK continue to grapple with the role of taxation. Westminster has leaned on duty rises while Scotland and Wales have experimented with minimum unit pricing. Outcomes are mixed. As reported by the drinks business, overall alcohol consumption is falling, particularly among younger people with 43% of those aged 18 to 34 now alcohol free, while deaths remain stubbornly high.
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Critics argue this shows the limits of fiscal levers. Minimum unit pricing in Scotland reduced sales by around 3% but problem drinkers often continued purchasing, sometimes at significant personal financial cost.
Public opinion shifting
A new cross-national survey published this month provides another lens. Conducted across Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Kenya and the Philippines, it found that 88% of respondents viewed alcohol consumption as a societal problem, with violence cited most often as the chief concern. Strikingly, 65% overall agreed that higher alcohol taxes would reduce consumption despite decades of industry messaging to the contrary.
The survey also found that most people believe governments have a responsibility to address alcohol harms, 79% overall, and that the alcohol industry is culpable, 62%. Recognition of industry interference in policymaking strongly increased support for taxation measures.
Competing narratives
Executives from Diageo, Carlsberg and others have urged their peers to see what they see as the positive aspects of moderate drinking. At the same time, WHO officials such as Jeremy Farrar, assistant director general for health promotion, insist that there “does have to be a shift” to more robust policy action.
Eric Crosbie, professor of public health at the University of Nevada, added, “We have to remember these are businesses. They’re there to make money.”
In defence of wine
Into this contested space steps Dr Laura Catena, physician and vintner, who has launched her own campaign, “In Defence of Wine”. Frustrated by what she calls misinformation in the media and the WHO’s stance that no level of alcohol is safe, Catena has begun publishing letters to editors and presentations that point to credible studies suggesting moderate wine consumption can offer cardiovascular and metabolic benefits, particularly for those over 40. She argues that reporting has ignored this body of research while focusing solely on harms.
Catena acknowledges alcohol can cause damage in excess but insists that balanced science must be part of the conversation. “Drinking in moderation makes you feel good,” she told the drinks business, “so I’m saying it is health neutral and pleasure positive.” For her, wine is not just an agricultural product but a cultural cornerstone that deserves a fairer representation in the debate on alcohol and health.
Between these competing narratives lies the policy space where governments must act.
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