Overview
The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) is a not-for-profit organization established in 2015, following the dissolution of two earlier alcohol industry lobby groups: the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) and the Global Alcohol Producers Group (GAPG). Headquartered in Washington, D.C., IARD presents itself as a public health partner that aims to reduce harmful drinking and promote “responsible” alcohol use. In practice, it functions as a front group for the alcohol industry, enabling its largest producers to coordinate political messaging, lobby against effective alcohol policy, and polish their public image under the guise of corporate social responsibility.
Members
IARD is funded and governed by some of the world’s largest alcohol producers:
- AB InBev
- Asahi Group Holdings
- Bacardi
- Beam Suntory
- Brown-Forman
- Carlsberg
- Diageo
- Heineken
- Kirin
- Molson Coors
- Pernod Ricard
- William Grant & Sons
These companies use IARD as a collective platform to influence global health governance, shape national policy environments, and promote industry-friendly narratives in the media and policy arenas.
DisguisING Alcohol Industry Interference
IARD works across a range of areas that intersect with alcohol policy, including marketing, sales regulation, youth protection, and global health frameworks. It frequently positions itself as aligned with World Health Organization (WHO) strategies and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 3.5. However, this alignment is largely rhetorical.
IARD systematically engages in activities aimed at shaping science and alcohol policy globally. It promotes voluntary self-regulation mechanisms such as the “Digital Guiding Principles,” which have been criticized for their ineffectiveness in preventing youth exposure to online alcohol marketing. Research has demonstrated that voluntary industry guidelines, including IARD’s digital marketing standards, routinely fail to protect youth from alcohol marketing, highlighting the need for more effective regulation and independent oversight.
Research has revealed that alcohol companies linked with IARD have collaborated closely with tobacco-industry-funded groups, using similar tactics to manipulate scientific evidence and weaken public health regulations. Such coordinated efforts between Big Alcohol and Big Tobacco front groups demonstrate the industry’s systematic attempts to distort scientific research to advance commercial interests.
Moreover, IARD and its industry partners influence public perception by downplaying scientifically proven health risks, notably the link between alcohol use and cancer. This deliberate misrepresentation of scientific evidence aims to undermine public understanding and regulatory measures addressing alcohol’s health impacts.
Flawed Claims, Deception, and Undermining Public Health
IARD’s narratives consistently mirror the strategic priorities of its funders. It claims to support evidence-based policy while lobbying against measures such as taxation, availability restrictions, and comprehensive marketing bans. It frames global health efforts as needing “balance,” often warning against “one-size-fits-all” approaches – a common tactic used to undermine universal standards. And it routinely calls for partnerships with civil society and governments, in an attempt to secure a seat at the policymaking table despite clear conflicts of interest.
These narratives are not harmless – they obstruct progress on protective public health policy. IARD promotes approaches that align with its members’ commercial interests and has consistently opposed measures that would reduce alcohol sales. This includes attempts to undermine the WHO’s global alcohol strategy and the SAFER initiative, which outlines five cost-effective measures to prevent and reduce alcohol harm.
By promoting self-regulation and PR campaigns, IARD helps normalize alcohol use, reinforce corporate branding, and delay effective regulatory responses. Its initiatives are often presented as proactive and science-based, but closer scrutiny reveals a consistent pattern: lobbying for the least effective interventions and opposing any binding regulation that would interfere with profits.
Unethical Practices Exposed
IARD’s close involvement in shaping and funding scientific research has been widely criticized. A recent analysis revealed troubling connections between IARD, affiliated alcohol companies and major alcohol research funders, indicating the industry’s influence over research outcomes. This interference poses significant risks to the independence and credibility of alcohol science.
Further highlighting its interference, IARD and its member companies have attempted to weaken WHO’s Global Alcohol Action Plan. An investigation detailed strategies deployed by IARD to undermine global health policy processes through targeted lobbying and behind-the-scenes influence.
In another notable controversy, alcohol industry actors, including IARD-affiliated companies, have disrupted scientific studies to produce outcomes favorable to their commercial interests. These actions further expose the organization’s role in compromising public health for industry benefit.
