But the police and transport ministries emphasised the benefits for crime prevention and road safety. For example, the regulations were introduced to reduce alcohol-related trauma. ![]() But they lacked cohesion.ĭifferent government ministries sought to use the regulations to advance the interests of their own departments. The government actors typically assumed a defensive stance, mainly using evidence. ![]() How business misrepresented evidence: the South African sugar tax story The tobacco and food industries have used similar ploys in the past to block or weaken health policies in South Africa and internationally. The tactics employed by the alcohol industry are not new. Industry repeatedly cited large – and often untested – figures of profit and job losses. The most prominent argument against regulation was the economic impact. Industry actors used emotive language and framed the regulations as affecting small businesses. These included lobbying political parties and representatives, litigation against the government, questioning evidence on the benefits of the alcohol restrictions and proposing policy alternatives. It presented a consistent message using a wide range of avenues. The approach of the alcohol industry was cohesive and well coordinated. We also looked at the strategies these stakeholders used to influence regulation. We tested claims that limiting alcohol advertising in South Africa would violate rights News24 predominantly reported on alcohol industry-oriented actors and perspectives. The news platforms differed in the way they reported these actors’ perspectives and strategies. Government and the alcohol industry were the most prominent actors represented in the media. The media platforms that we analysed presented a range of actors: government departments, the alcohol industry (manufacturers, retailers, small to medium-sized enterprises), alcohol industry associations, political parties, non-governmental organisations and academics. They capture the perspectives of diverse actors. Together these platforms are widely used and current. It has the highest reach in South Africa. News24, on the other hand, is an independent digital-only platform. ![]() The research involved a content analysis of 142 online news media articles from News24 and SABC News Online.Īs a national broadcaster, the SABC has a public interest mandate and provides free-to-air news bulletins. We also looked at the strategies they employed and what this means for alcohol regulation in the future. In our recent paper we analysed media reports to identify these actors. The restrictions also highlighted who the influential players were in the alcohol regulation space – and the strategies they used to protect their interests. These regulations demonstrated the benefits of reduced alcohol consumption on the South African healthcare system. The aim was to ease the burden of people with alcohol-related trauma in hospitals when many patients were being admitted with severe COVID-19. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the South African government has implemented intermittent alcohol prohibitions and restrictions. The COVID-19 related alcohol regulations provided an unprecedented real-world experiment to put alcohol regulation onto the policy agenda.
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