Drink companies have no role in tackling problem, group claims
Alcohol companies have no role to play in tackling Ireland’s drink problem.
That's according to a new independent group that has been set up to support the Government’s new Public Health Alcohol Bill.
The Alcohol Health Alliance will bring a public health perspective to the debate by highlighting the harm caused by drink and the solutions to reduce it.
Professor Frank Murray is a liver specialist and president of the Royal College of Physicians, and he is critical of Diageo’s involvement in a campaign to stop out of control drinking.
"Diageo is there to sell alcohol and to act to maximise profits for their shareholders." Murray told the press at the launch of the Alcohol Health Alliance today.
"Diageo is the company which contrived Arthur's Day., which we felt, as you know, fuelled out-of-control drinking, and we raised a voice against it.
"I'm glad to see that Arthur's Day is no more. But their approach, I think, has become more sophisticated."
The group is calling for support for the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015, which contains measures on minimum unit pricing, advertising and underage drinking.
