Simon Robinson - Ethics in the Alcohol Industry

Ethics in the Alcohol Industry

Also by Simon J. Robinson

ENGINEERING, BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
(with Ross Dixon and Krisen Moodley)

ETHICS FOR LIVING AND WORKING (editor)

SPIRITUALITY, ETHICS AND CARE

Simon J. Robinson
and
Alexandra J. Kenyon

Simon J. Robinson and Alexandra J. Kenyon 2009

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published 2009
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.

Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martins Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.

Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world.

Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.

ISBN 9780230219885

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Robinson, Simon, 1951
Ethics in the alcohol industry / Simon J. Robinson and Alexandra J. Kenyon.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 9780230219885 (alk. paper)
1. Alcoholic beverage industryMoral and ethical aspects. 2. Drinking
of alcoholic beveragesSocial aspects. 3. Social responsibility of
business. I. Kenyon, Alexandra J., 1966 II. Title
HD9350.5.R63 2009
17496631dc22 2009013634

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09

Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne

I was brought up in a Yorkshire village in the 1950s. Church, chapel, primary school and cricket club kept the village alive and gave the villagers shared meaning, and alcohol did not play a huge part. There was the occasional excess, but a village of less than 2,000 people meant complete transparency, and anything out of the ordinary was soon spotted. On the whole, people preferred not to be spotted. Alcohol was not frowned upon. It simply did not figure that much in a place where you had to be careful with your money and did not have time to get drunk. In my first profession psychiatric social work alcohol was at the centre of life. We sat in groups twice a day, each session lasting one-and-a-half hours, each reflecting on the effect of alcohol in the lives of patients, and what they would replace the empty bottle with. Alcohol here was a matter of life and death, and I remember to this day an animated conversation with a very articulate man, who had become a friend, about the effect of alcohol on his liver. The next week he was dead.

In this book, we hope that the reflections on alcohol, and the ethical issues that surround it, will be more than merely an academic conversation. The aim is to focus on the meaning that alcohol makes for individuals and communities and, beneath that, on ethical identity and the importance of responsibility for all concerned with alcohol. The first man to help me see something about responsibility and community lived close to me in that first Yorkshire village my grandfather, Hardy Rhodes. Joiner, undertaker, builder, choirmaster, organist and maths lecturer, he has influenced many of my attempts to develop responsibility even to this day. It is to his memory that I dedicate this book.

Advent 2008

SIMON ROBINSON

I have lived in, worked for and researched the licensed retail and alcohol industry for many years. My first job was as a waitress in a gastro pub and I enjoyed the convivial atmosphere, the banter and the camaraderie so much so that I kept returning to it, working in local boozers and preclub bars. When I changed careers and moved to a new town, I needed to establish a social network with fun loving people: what better place to do that than in a pub, after work on a Friday night. Pubs have a long history of being happy, welcoming spaces where communities are brought together, friendships are formed, loved ones are found and lost ones mourned. When the values of community spirit, friendship and warmth are at the forefront, and alcohol secondary, a wonderful evening can be shared. I dedicate this book to my husband Steve (who I met in a pub), and Kelly, Lynn and Kevin, with whom I have shared many memorable times.

Advent 2008

ALEXANDRA J. KENYON

We thank the following for advice and for permission to reproduce material:

The Advertising Standards Authority

The British Beer & Pub Association

Professor Cary L. Cooper, CBE Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External Relations), Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University

Eurobarometer

The Cabinet Office: Reduction Strategy for England

The European Advertising Standards Alliance Brussels

The International Center for Alcohol Policies

The Stationery Office (TSO)

The World Health Organization

For his support and advice, we would like to extend our thanks to Professor Cary L. Cooper, CBE, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (External Relations), Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University. Our thanks also go to the Cabinet Office for permission to present . The Cabinet Office, the European Advertising Standards Alliance, Brussels, and the International Center for Alcohol Policies have also been the sources for general information referred to in the text.

For the design and artwork of the front cover to this volume, we gratefully acknowledge Toby Montague BA (Hons), Graphic Arts and Design Student at Leeds Metropolitan University, with the support of the Facilitator of Design Ian Truelove, Principal Lecturer, Leeds School of Contemporary Art and Graphic Design, Leeds Metropolitan University.