Pursuing profit at the expense of public health? Case studies of alcohol industry activity in sub-Saharan Africa

Citation

Purves R, Mitchell G & Uny I (2025) Pursuing profit at the expense of public health? Case studies of alcohol industry activity in sub-Saharan Africa. FORUT. https://forut.no/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/20250410_Pursuing_profit_at_the_expense_of_public_health.pdf

Abstract
First paragraph: Sub-Saharan Africa has been identified as a key market for growth for the alcohol industry for many reasons, including high proportions of abstainers and heavy episodic drinkers (among drinkers) and weak alcohol control policies (1-4). Global retail sales for alcohol in 2017 were estimated to be worth over $1.5 trillion (15.8 trillion NOK), with sales and profits concentrated among a small number of transnational companies (5). In line with other health-harming industries, the size and scale of these companies support marketing, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and other activity dedicated to preventing policies that conflict with commercial interests (6-8).