Table 1.
Characteristics of included studies.
| Study aims and review‐level observations on strengths of findings | Review‐level summary of data collection and analysis details | Review‐level observations on study limitations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfield et al. 2004 23; Giesbrecht et al. 2004 22, a | This interview study draws on documentary data to investigate the US policy process and the handling of specific policy issues. There are important findings on industry arguments, political organization and influencing tactics (e.g. financial donations and lobbying) subsequently replicated, and also key data on policy processes; for example, the dynamics of the US federal policy system, that have not yet been studied further | Uses a rigorous two‐stage sampling approach to recruit multiple actor types involved in policymaking and obtains an impressive response rate in a large sample (n = 64). Detailed theoretically based, analytical procedures are described. These are linked to the analytical categories and validity issues are explicitly considered. Team analysis | Few details of how interviews were conducted in included reports. The difficulty of getting industry respondents to talk about policy dynamics is noted. Use made of documentary/archival data in the analysis somewhat unclear in included reports |
|
Bond et al. 2009 24; Bond et al. 2010 25 |
This study of internal tobacco company documents takes advantage of Phillip Morris ownership of Miller Brewing Company to provide ‘smoking gun’ data on a range of key issues. It clearly identifies common policy concerns across tobacco and alcohol sectors. Policy issues are identified as key business risks globally, leading to an intention ‘to fight aggressively, with all available resources’ by ‘working behind the scenes’ through ‘a joint defence strategy’ with other alcohol industry actors and external lobbyists | Uses searching guidance for tobacco documents, identifying first 22 then increasing to 29 documents in the later paper on alcohol industry issues. Data unquestionably very strong. Thematic and content analyses are undertaken, although few details provided | Difficult to assess whether there may be other documents that have been missed. It may be possible to question external (i.e. generalizability to other actors) rather than internal validity. Later inclusion and coverage of Reynolds is somewhat unclear |
| Bakke & Endal 2010 26 | This study uses documentary data along with external data in the manner of a case study. Resulted from the chance discovery of software confirming industry authorship of draft national alcohol policy documents in four African countries. Safer drinking for the entire population was emphasized despite 3/4 being non‐drinkers, and industry‐preferred policies proposed. The industry actor also sought to institutionalize their participation in the processes of monitoring and reviewing resulting policies. This is another ‘smoking gun’ study | Detailed textual comparisons of policy documents used. No methodological details provided for workshop and other data. | It is unclear what impacts industry involvement in drafting these documents had on the subsequent final policies, or if conduct of this study impacted on policy decision‐making. The nature of the unpublished observational, interview and e‐mail correspondence data used, and their analysis, are also unclear |
| Miller et al. 2011 27 | This is a documentary study of alcohol industry actor submissions to an Australian public consultation on prevention and health and the extent to which they promoted Drinkwise, a social aspects organization, to demonstrate corporate social responsibility. Promotion of Drinkwise in all industry submissions is identified | The data set comprises nine industry submissions of a total of 33 relevant to alcohol. Thematic analyses were undertaken. The data set is modest and the reported findings stick appropriately close to it | There are few details provided of the conduct of the analyses. The study focus is somewhat narrow and the resulting data set small |
| Yoon & Lam 2012 28 | This documentary study examines the policy debate over a zero beer and wine tax in Hong Kong. During an 8‐year period, industry actors came to coherently organize lobbying efforts to connect with key politicians. The importance of ideas in the evolution of the debates and the weak nature of public health advocacy in so doing are also emphasized | Alcohol and related industry material, media reports and government data sources are examined; 97 documents were analysed thematically. First author conducted the analyses | Examples of key search terms only are given, and similarly, indicative types of documents provided. It is thus unclear whether informative documents that would change study findings may have been missed. Few details of analytical methods are provided |
| Holden et al. 2012 35; Holden & Hawkins 2012 32; Hawkins & Holden 2013 34; Hawkins & Holden 2014 33 | This interview study is reported in a series of papers which collectively offer an extensive and coherent account of industry wide organization, policy framing, political strategy and engagement with policy makers in relation to alcohol pricing in the UK during a period of policy controversy. Comparative analysis of Scotland and England was incorporated into the study design | Stakeholder analysis to identify interviewees via purposive and subsequent snowball sampling. High level of access to industry actors. Triangulation between interview respondents (industry and non‐industry actors) as well as with documents/external data sources. Two authors involved in theoretically based analyses. Data saturation considered | Low levels of participation by governmental actors. Possible limitations in novel use of interview alongside documentary data for undertaking framing analyses. Variability in depth of insights across objects of study |
| Jiang & Ling 2013 31 | This study of internal tobacco company documents aimed to study alliances between tobacco and alcohol industries in the US in 1980s and 1990s. It specifies three main policy areas of collaboration (tax, air pollution and advertising), the industry actors involved and the organizational vehicles created or used for this purpose. It identifies the importance of co‐ownership in the identification of common interests, strategies and coalition building | Examples of the search terms used are given. Extensive use is made of memos in analysing the documents, although it is not clear how documents have been selected. The numbers of documents examined are reported by issue rather than overall | It is unclear which actors have been investigated and thus what may have been missed. The scope of this study, including examination of effects, is more focused on tobacco control than alcohol policy |
| McCambridge et al. 2013 38 | This documentary study examines the use of evidence in alcohol industry actor submissions to a Scottish public consultation on population‐level policy measures that were strongly opposed by industry actors. Misrepresentations of the international scientific evidence on alcohol policies are identified along with other tactics in evidence use | The study uses extensive direct quotation and provides access to 27 submission documents by industry actors. Analyses involved comparisons with the international scientific evidence base and gave weight to the frequency and prominence of evidential claims | The data set is large and it is not clear whether additional findings may have been missed. There is limited detail provided of the conduct of the analyses |
| Hawkins & McCambridge 2014 37 | This case study examined how a global producer funded a respected think tank to produce reports at crucial stages in the development of the UK government's alcohol strategy. The tactics used to promote industry interests were similar to those used by transnational tobacco corporations, particularly using other, apparently independent, actors to articulate industry arguments | A range of data sources and data collection activities are described including those which capture political events. The design and composition of the case study provides some conceptual framework for the data analysis | Other data sources may have enhanced the findings of the case study. The reports were heavily promoted and a key policy decision was controversially reversed, although the study is not able to directly link the two. The industry actor studied is part‐owned by a tobacco company and may be untypical of other actors |
| Katikireddi et al. 2014 36, a | This case study investigated the development of pricing policy in Scotland and identifies two contrasting framings of the nature of the alcohol‐related problems to be addressed, which dominate the underlying policy debate: ‘social disorder’ (promoted by some but not all industry actors) versus ‘health’. This study thus emphasizes the importance of framing in policy debates | Combines both interview and documentary data including textual and oral evidence to a parliamentary committee. Offers a sophisticated, theoretically based approach to data analysis with details provided of the process | The study provides key data on industry actors although the scope is broader, so that there are limitations in the reporting of industry actor specific findings. Nonetheless, the study identifies a key difference in framing between industry actors supporting and opposing the policy measure |
| Kypri et al. 2014 39 | This is a documentary study of submissions to a New Zealand parliamentary committee on a proposed bill to increase the minimum purchase age for alcohol. Industry submissions were highly unified in their opposition to the bill in comparison to those from other sources. Industry actors sought to increase the numbers of submissions opposing the bill | A large data set of 178 submissions, mainly from the public, industry and NGOs was included. Template/thematic analysis was used with doubled coding of data and detailed presentation of findings based on coding | The bulk of the alcohol industry data is presented quantitatively rather than qualitatively. The scope of this study is concerned largely with comparisons between submissions from different types of actors rather than on the industry per se |
| Sornpaisarn & Kaewmungkun 2014 29 | This case study examines taxation by beverage category in Thailand during a 20‐year period and efforts by the three dominant alcohol companies to influence decision‐making in line with their interests. The tax regime favoured the largest company and the other two used donations and access to prominent politicians, including the Prime Minister, to lobby for policy change. Conflicts between sectoral interests are emphasized | Multiple data sources used include quantitative analyses of taxation data, participant observations, media reports and parliamentary documents. Two specific events in the policy process are described. Content analyses performed with triangulation between data sources is described | There are few qualitative data originating from the content analyses presented, and it is not clear how data from different sources were used in reaching conclusions. The quantitative data do not include imports. It is not clear how informative events, other than the two described, may be |
| Avery et al. 2016 40 | This documentary study of alcohol industry submissions to an Australian parliamentary inquiry into fetal alcohol spectrum disorders sought to investigate how industry actors contribute to policy development. As in other studies, it found promotion of vested interests including advocacy of ineffective policies, problem minimization and attacks on opponents | This study examines a small data set of five submissions made by four national and one state‐level (Western Australia) trade association covering the main sectors of alcohol production. Thematic analytical methods are used, although not described in detail | There appears little depth to the data available from industry actors. Generalizability to other issues, actors and cultures could be limited, although the findings are similar to those of other studies |
| Zatonski et al. 2016 30 | This documentary study examined framing of the policy debate around an increase in spirits tax in Poland. Industry actors successfully promoted an economic framing of the policy debate in opposition to a health frame, especially in newspapers | This study adds to the literature on the importance of framing, and discursive strategies more broadly, in alcohol policy debates. Identifies precisely all dates and data sources (print media, spirits industry websites, governmental records and parliamentary debates) and 155 documents on the spirits tax were included. Theoretically informed analyses of framing, content analysis and thematic analysis, with origins and outcomes of codes presented. First author conducted analyses | Does not present search terms or strategy. Included data somewhat lacking in depth. Limited coverage of included data sources, e.g. no online media |
| Savell et al. 2016 13 | This study sought to review alcohol industry attempts systematically to influence alcohol policies on marketing. Key arguments synthesized among 17 reports emphasized industry self‐regulation and individual drinker responsibility. Strong commonalities between tobacco and alcohol industry political activities were identified, with variations due most probably to policy context. This first evidence synthesis provides a major milestone in the development of the literature on alcohol industry policy influencing strategies | The 17 reports involve different forms of evidence and only two of 17 reports are included within the present study due to differing foci and study designs (for example, grey literature is excluded here). A rigorous narrative synthesis of included reports is described, with findings also reported in detail. This included involvement of all three authors in analysis, and double coding of all data. A careful comparison of findings with those from a parallel review on the tobacco industry was also undertaken | The report is not reported according to PRISMA guidelines and required content is lacking. Potentially eligible reports may have been missed. The evidential strengths and limitations of individual reports, and the literature as a whole, have not been discussed explicitly |
a
Other reports from these studies did not fulfil eligibility criteria for this review for lack of sufficient industry actor study focus or data. NGO = non‐governmental; PRISMA = Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses.