The dissolution of the alcohol advisory council: a blow for public health

In June 2012 the Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC) ceased to be after more than three decades of providing advice on alcohol policy, undertaking health promotion activities, and funding research on the prevalence and causes of unhealthy alcohol use and strategies to address alcohol-related harm. Perversely, its dissolution followed soon after the Law Commission’s “once in a generation” review recommending law reform to address New Zealand’s substantial alcohol-related health burden. ALAC’s functions were ostensibly taken over by the Health Promotion Agency (HPA) but this new entity was given less autonomy than ALAC and a remit including areas as disparate as rheumatic fever and sun safety. In addition, HPA was compromised from the start by the appointment of a food, alcohol and tobacco industry representative to its Board. ALAC sometimes fell short of community and scientists’ expectations that it provide independent and fearless advice on politically contested matters, such as controls on alcohol marketing. However, it seems that the way the HPA has been set up makes effective action to address health and social problems caused by alcohol consumption in New Zealand unlikely.