Examining the power of the alcohol and tobacco industries in policymaking: Lessons and challenges for the Philippines and Singapore

Abstract

Abstract Aims: Transnational alcohol and tobacco corporations are expanding operations in Southeast Asia. This study has two objectives: to examine the power of the tobacco and alcohol industries in shaping tobacco and alcohol policies in the Philippines and Singapore and to identify key lessons and challenges for alcohol and tobacco control. Methods: We developed a conceptual framework from the literature on power and political, commercial and determinants of health. We collected data from official government documents, corporate documents, and news articles for content analysis on the tactics of the alcohol and tobacco industries. We also conducted 30 in-depth, anonymised interviews in the Philippines and Singapore and conducted a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews. Findings: Transnational and national alcohol and tobacco corporations use various tactics to influence the policy process for alcohol and tobacco control in the Philippines and Singapore. These industries utilised lobbying, litigation or threat of litigation, revolving doors, and marketing to exercise their instrumental power. These industries exercised their structural power by exploiting their market dominance, and public-private partnerships, promoting self-regulation, and benefiting from regulatory capture. They tapped framing tactics, corporate social responsibility activities and public-private partnerships to exert their discursive power. Conclusions: The alcohol and tobacco industries’ exercise of instrumental, structural, and discursive powers is mutually reinforcing. Policymakers, researchers, and civil society organisations working on alcohol and tobacco control need to understand and tackle these powers in the context of power asymmetries within countries and consider the dynamics of local, national, and international laws and corporate practices.