Media release: Review of New Zealand’s drinking guidelines at risk from industry influence despite clear evidence of harm

A review of Aotearoa New Zealand’s low-risk alcohol drinking guidelines faces significant risk from alcohol industry influence, even as growing international evidence confirms that there is no safe level of alcohol use for health. 

In the latest Public Health Communication Centre Briefing, public health and addiction researchers say alcohol industry lobbying threatens the integrity of the review and could undermine efforts to align national guidance with current evidence.

New Zealand’s low-risk drinking advice (LRDA) was last updated in 2011. Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora began a review in 2024, but the Briefing authors warn the process remains vulnerable to industry tactics that mirror those historically used by the tobacco sector. 

Lead author Associate Professor Andy Towers from Massey University says research shows the alcohol industry regularly seeks to shape policy, weaken regulation and promote narratives that frame harm as an issue of individual responsibility rather than commercial practice. “The alcohol industry use methods including lobbying politicians and public servants, funding research that downplays harm, creating uncertainty in the scientific literature and promoting public information that omits evidence, including links to cancer.”

He says that stronger safeguards are needed to protect the LRDA review and ensure evidence-based public health policy remains independent of vested interests. “We are recommending measures including tighter rules on political lobbying and donations, limits on movement between industry and government roles, and prohibiting alcohol industry involvement in school-based education and public-facing information.”

Large-scale studies now demonstrate a clear relationship between alcohol use and many chronic diseases, with increased risk occurring even at low levels of consumption. These findings have prompted several countries, including the UK Australia and Canada, to update their LRDA to reflect the accumulating evidence of harm.

The authors say updating the LRDA to reflect current evidence and strengthening protections against industry interference are essential steps to support effective alcohol harm reduction in New Zealand.