Responsibility deal condemned

Under the deal, launched by health secretary Andrew Lansley in March, the industry has pledged to commit to seven key areas of change including unit-labelling on packaging.

Speaking at a responsible-drinking forum, the British Liver Trust’s Alison Rogers said: “Why did we walk away from the responsibility deal? Because there is a fundamental conflict of interest in the drinks industry’s claim to help solve the UK’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol when its raison d’être is the sale of alcohol.

“The best marketing minds in the world are not helping to cut down on sales in the responsibility deal; they are helping to work out how to get this lovely CSR (corporate social responsibility) campaign to work. It isn’t happening. Somebody else is going to have to take up this mantle.”

Diane Goslar, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists addiction faculty, said the deal would fail. “The drinks industry is in the business of selling alcohol.

“It is not and should not be its responsibility to promote public health and reduce alcohol-related harm.

“I would really like to see the Government take on a much more active and strong role in helping to solve alcohol-related problems by making it mandatory for the drinks industry to operate within a specific framework and penalising those who don’t.”

Last week, the Health Select Committee also said it was “unconvinced that the new responsibility deal will be effective in resolving issues such as alcohol abuse”.

It recommended that the Department of Health draw up regulation plans because the policy of “nudging” companies towards healthier policies was doomed to failure.

But British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) chief executive Brigid Simmonds defended the deal: “It is a fallacy to believe that alcohol producers are not interested in people drinking responsibly. The BBPA has signed up to all seven alcohol pledges, and all our members are committed to labelling products in line with the pledge.”