Colombia’s beer industry is flooding communities with ultra-cheap alcohol while blocking life-saving public health measures. Bavaria and Andina’s - meaning beer giants AB InBev and Heineken - predatory pricing policies, marketing and aggressive lobbying tactics are driving massive harm - especially among children and youth - while maximising private profits thanks to favourable and discriminatory tax treatment. It’s time to end this injustice: raising alcohol taxes is a powerful, proven...| Movendi International
The final UN Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health fails to deliver a meaningful response to alcohol harm, despite some modest gains. Movendi International’s in-depth analysis reveals how alcohol industry interference attacked the most meaningful elements of the draft text, resulting in six major missed opportunities in the final declaration - from deleted targets and omitted SAFER measures to vague language and a lack of accountability. This politically compromised outcome underm...| Movendi International
The final UN Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health includes all three alcohol policy Best Buys, highlights alcohol taxation, and acknowledges the commercial determinants of health and conflicts of interest. But it fails to deliver a fast-tracked alcohol policy response commensurate with the scale of alcohol harm. The declaration omits concrete targets, screening and brief interventions, the SAFER alcohol policy blueprint, and explicit recognition of alcohol industry interference. Mo...| Movendi International
Despite bold promises to prioritise prevention, the UK government has quietly abandoned key alcohol policy measures like minimum unit pricing and advertising restrictions - under pressure from alcohol industry lobbyists. New reporting by The Guardian reveals how alcohol industry front groups helped derail evidence-based policies, putting private profits before public health. Experts warn this retreat threatens people's health and lives as well as the future of the NHS itself.| Movendi International
Belgium is opposing a proposed EU regulation that would allow wines with up to 6% alcohol by volume to be labeled as “low-alcohol,” arguing that the term is misleading and could undermine public health. Belgian health authorities insist that such labeling breaks with established food law practices, risks giving consumers a false sense of safety, and should be replaced with the more accurate term “reduced alcohol content.” The final decision now rests with the European Parliament, wher...| Movendi International
A major U.S. government study confirming the link between alcohol and cancer has been buried by the Trump administration, despite being intended to inform the 2025 Dietary Guidelines. The Alcohol Intake and Health Study found that even low levels of alcohol use increase the risk of death and cancer, especially for women - but it was sidelined in favor of a scientifically inferior, alcohol industry-favored report from the National Academies. This suppression reflects the alcohol industry’s g...| Movendi International
Newly released government papers expose how Big Alcohol lobbyists in New Zealand worked to block effective alcohol policies. The Ministry of Health shared draft strategies with alcohol industry lobby groups, while withholding them from the public, and paused reforms after lobbying pressure. The documents reveal industry opposition to proven WHO measures such as higher taxes, lowered availability, and ending alcohol sponsorship in sport. They also show how the industry dismissed credible estim...| Movendi International
Alcohol industry language, no alcohol policy action: UN Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health risks becoming meaningless. Alcohol industry interference in the drafting of the political declaration of the fourth high-level meeting on NCDs and mental health has quietly erased proven, cost-effective alcohol policy measures - despite alcohol being the leading risk factor for death and disease among young people worldwide. While tobacco is treated with specificity and urgency, alcohol po...| Movendi International
VAST Ghana is stepping up for alcohol taxation. Following successful advocacy work for Ghana to raise alcohol taxes in 2023, VAST is now stepping up again to defend the public health achievement. The Excise Duty Act, with tax rates up to 47.5%, is credited with curbing alcohol harm, yet it now faces pushback from the alcohol industry. VAST Ghana urges lawmakers to resist pressure and instead strengthen tax policy by adopting a hybrid system and indexing for inflation.| Movendi International