SHAAP Policy & Communications Officer, Lisa Davie, reflects on her first two months in the role, what she’s learned about alcohol marketing and industry influence, and what Scotland’s new Alcohol & Drugs Strategic Plan means for the road ahead.
Just over two months ago, I joined SHAAP as Policy & Communications Officer. Before this, I’d spent five years working in communications in the golf industry. I enjoyed the chaos behind the scenes of major sporting events, but I was ready to do something more meaningful – and the opportunity to move into policy and public affairs on an issue as urgent as alcohol harm felt like the right move. What I wasn’t prepared for was just how deliberate and far-reaching the alcohol industry’s influence really is.
I live in Edinburgh, and since starting this role, the city looks different to me. Alcohol marketing is everywhere – not just the obvious pub signs and billboards, but the subtler stuff: branded glassware on outdoor tables, sponsored events in the festival calendar, social media ads that seem to follow me home. Once you start noticing it, you can’t stop. That ubiquity is entirely by design.
What I’ve learned about the industry
Diving into the evidence base at SHAAP has been eye-opening. The WHO’s Alcohol Policy Playbook, published last year, lays bare the tactics the alcohol industry uses across the globe: cherry-picking evidence, exaggerating societal contribution, promoting voluntary measures it knows are ineffective, and lobbying aggressively against the policies that actually work. The industry isn’t afraid to bend the truth to suit its agenda and the damage this does to public health is greater than I had appreciated.
What has frustrated me most is how the industry takes advantage of vulnerable groups. It pretends that alcohol harm is confined to people who are dependent, when in reality even low levels of drinking carry health risks. It targets young people through sport sponsorship and digital marketing. And it uses front organisations like Drinkaware to provide information that can actually encourage people to drink more. Coming from the sports world, I’ve seen first-hand how alcohol brands embed themselves into the culture and emotions of fandom. SHAAP’s Calling Time campaign to ban alcohol sports sponsorship is grounded in compelling research: Scotland has the second highest proportion of alcohol sponsors in European top-flight football. Countries with statutory restrictions have significantly less. That evidence demands action.
Scotland’s Strategic Plan: welcome, but where’s the urgency?
Earlier this month, the Scottish Government published Preventing Harm, Promoting Recovery: Scotland’s Alcohol & Drugs Strategic Plan 2026–2035. There is much to welcome. It reaffirms a commitment to evidence-based prevention, recognises the WHO’s three key levers of targeting the attractiveness, affordability and availability of alcohol, and builds on the success of Minimum Unit Pricing. It promises an alcohol harm prevention action plan later this year.
On alcohol marketing, the plan’s commitment to an action plan targeting the WHO’s three levers is a positive signal – and one that organisations like SHAAP and Alcohol Focus Scotland have long called for. But after years of consultation and gathering evidence, the promise of detail later in 2026 still leaves us without concrete action on marketing restrictions for now. We must be careful that this doesn’t become an exercise in kicking the pint can down the road. More than three people die an avoidable alcohol death in Scotland every day. The evidence for comprehensive marketing restrictions is clear and has been for some time. What is missing is not knowledge but political will.
Equally concerning is the plan’s language around stakeholder engagement. The commitment to “appropriate engagement… with stakeholders, including in clinical and public health sectors and in business and industry, on the impact and effect of potential actions” deserves careful scrutiny.
Let’s be clear: the alcohol industry should not have a seat at the table when it comes to setting public health policy. The WHO Playbook documents exactly why. An industry whose primary goal is to increase consumption cannot be a trusted partner in reducing harm. That said, once evidence-based policy has been determined, working with industry on implementation is both pragmatic and necessary. The distinction matters – and the strategic plan does not make it clearly enough.
An election, a crossroads, and a generation to protect
Scotland goes to the polls in May. This election is not just about the next parliamentary term – it will shape the direction of alcohol policy for years to come. The strategic plan’s commitments on marketing, pricing and availability will only mean something if the next government has the courage to follow through. As SHAAP’s Chair Dr Alastair MacGilchrist said on the day the plan was published, we will be advocating for accountability and funding so that today’s commitments are not forgotten after the election.
I came to SHAAP because I wanted to use my communications background to make a difference on something that matters. Two months in, I’m more convinced than ever that Scotland can lead the way on alcohol harm prevention – as it did with MUP and the smoking ban before that. But leadership means acting on the evidence, not deferring to an industry that profits from inaction. The children growing up surrounded by alcohol marketing today deserve better. So do the families who have already lost someone.
I’m hopeful about what lies ahead, but my eyes are wide open about the obstacles. This is an important moment for Scotland. At SHAAP, we’ll be making sure it counts.