The possibility of a distortion of the UK research agenda has recently been highlighted in an animated debate in ADDICTION. Essentially it centres around the appointment of the Chief Executive of the Portman Group to the board of the Alcohol Education and Council(AERC) by the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport. This paper will summarize the debate and it will be argued that despite this appointment the AERC continues to be a robust organization. There will be an objective examination of its current research funding priorities which indicate an increasing trend towards radical social policy research and a move away from relatively benign treatment outcome studies.
Does the alcohol industry influence the research agenda in the UK?
First published: 09 May 2019 | Last updated: 20 May 2019
