Portman Group

In 1989, a new public relations alliance was formed by the UK's leading alcohol companies. Instrumental in setting the ball rolling was Lord Wakeham, a Tory peer and then chairman of the Ministerial Group on Alcohol Issues. According to Anthony Hurse, civil servant at the Department of Health: "Lord Wakeham made it clear to the alcohol industry that he would like the industry's collaboration. He spoke to Peter Mitchell [Director of Strategic Affairs] at Guinness who agreed he'd do what he could."3 As a consequence of Wakeham's suggestions, the UK's seven leading alcohol companies including Whitbread, Bass and Seagram, launched a new PR organisation from the headquarters of Guinness plc in London's Portman Square. The Portman Group's publicly stated aim is "to promote sensible drinking" However, according to Professor Nick Heather, Director of the Newcastle Centre for Alcohol and Drug Studies, the Group's real agenda is rather different: "The attempt to distance alcohol as a drug from other kinds of drug and to give it a good face is the main activity of groups like the Portman Group." ^[1]

The Portman Group claim that thier purpose is to promote responsible drinking; help prevent misuse of alcohol; encourage responsible marketing; and to foster a balanced understanding of alcohol-related issues. ^[2]

The role of the Portman Group include: operating a self regulatory scheme for alcohol producers on the marketing, packaging and promotion of alcoholic drinks; funding of various educational initiatives to promote responsible drinking and reduce alcohol harm.

The Portman Group are funded by the drinks industry and claim to: "recognise the importance to their own commercial freedom of tackling the social problems associated with alcohol misuse. We speak for these companies on social aspects of alcohol. We do not represent any drinks company or other part of the trade on any other matter." ^[3]

The Government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy (England)was launched in March 2004 (and subsequently reaffirmed in the Choosing Health White Paper). One of the aims was to develop a fund with broad based suport, financed voluntarily by industry to tackle alcohol misuse and alcohol-related harms. "It was envisaged that the fund would be used to finance community and national activities across the UK and would be administered by an independent board, wholly independent of Government". ^[4].

The industry opposed government plans to create an independent national fund for projects aimed at combating alcohol problems. Eventually, it agreed to reform an existing industry fund - the Drinkaware Trust - giving it greater independence from the industry. The Department of Health was approached by The Portman Group, which hoped its charitable arm, The Drinkaware Trust, would be a suitable vehicle to deliver the proposed new fund. After consultation and considerable negotiations between a variety of stakeholders between 2005-2006, "a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government, Devolved Administrations and The Portman Group was signed on 29 June 2006, whereby it was agreed that, as soon as was “reasonably practicable, the governance, funding base and activities of the existing Drinkaware Trust will be re-structured to fulfil the educational, community and awareness campaigning role envisaged in the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for a fund, voluntarily financed by the alcohol industry (producers and retailers), but with broadly-based support to tackle alcohol-related harms"• ^[5]

Funding Members

Full Members who fund the Portman Group are as follows:

• Bacardi Brown Forman Brands
• Beverage Brands (UK) Ltd
• Carlsberg UK
• Coors Brewers UK
• Diageo Great Britain
• InBev UK Ltd
• Pernod Ricard UK
• Scottish & Newcastle

Another 140 companies are signed up to the Portman Group Code of Practice, which encourages responsible marketing by the drinks industry. The on and off trade retailers in particular play a vital role in helping to enforce the decisions of the Independent Complaints Panel. ^[6]

Criticisms

Despite the wide membership the Portman Group stand accused of being dominated by alcohol producers in funding and governance.

The Portman Group reportedly, offered several British scientists a fee of £2000 to write anonymous critiques undermining a publication calling for more controls on the sale of alcohol namely higher tax and more restricted availability.^[7] (seeMarcus Grant)

Other criticisms of the group come primarily from outwith the industry and include the following

• A lack of independence which results it it reflecting the interests of the alcohol industry
• Ignores or discredits evidence that does not fit with the industry perspective
• Its educational campaigns place too much emphasis on individual responsibility
• Fails to emphasis the long term risks of heavy drinking
• Some critics regard the group as a Social Aspects Organisation whose aim is to manage issues that threaten the alcohol business
• Perhaps the most serious criticism regards the influence the Portman Group has over alcohol research, particularly following the decision to appoint it's then chief executive Jean Coussins to the Alcohol Education and Research Council. Professor Robin Room argueed against Coussins appointment he argued: "In my view, an organisation which has taken such a partisan position specifically on research findings should not be on the board of a semigovernmental organisation which is supporting alcohol research with public money." He added: "If a Portman Group staff member remains on the AERC board, it will severely compromise the AERC’s reputation and capacity to function as a scientific funding body operating in the public interest."

Other prominent alcohol researchers agree including Griffith Edwards professor of addiction at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, and editor of Addiction, agreed: "Jean Coussins is not a representative of the brewing industry but of a lobby group. The Portman Group has lobbied government intensively on behalf of the drinks industry, arguing that it is not drinking that matters, but drunkenness. ^[8]

Directors

All of the directors of the Portman Group come from the alcohol industry and hold current directorships with large corporations who produce and distribute alcohol, with the exception of the chief executive who only sits on the Portman board. Many also are directors of trade associations such as The British Beer and Pub Association and the The Drinkaware Trust.

• David Poley Chief Executive
• John Dunsmore
• Jean Spriet
• Christopher Searle
• Douglas Clydesdale
• Joseph Woods
• Richard S. Evans
• Benet Slay
• Peter Swinburn

^[9]

Notes

1. ^Jim Carey,1997. http://ecstasy.org/info/jim.html From the book Ecstasy Reconsidered] Accessed April 2007
2. ^ The Portman Group Promoting Responsible Drinking Company Web Site
3. ^ The Portman GroupWho We Are
4. ^The Drinkaware trustBackground and Origins Jan 2007
5. ^Rob Baggott (2000) Joseph Rowntree Trust Alcohol Strategy and the Drinks Industry: a partnership for prevention?
6. ^ Colin Drummond, Alcohol and Alcoholism Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 217-218, 2000 Oxford Journals Book Review of Drinking Patterns and their Consequences
7. ^Rob Baggott (2000) Joseph Rowntree Trust Alcohol Strategy and the Drinks Industry: a partnership for prevention?
8. ^ Susan Mayor, British Medical Journal 10th July 2004“Researcher objects to drinks industry representative sitting on alcohol research body” Accessed March 2007
9. ^ FAME Company Report The Portman Group Accessed April 2007