'Diageo Has Long History Of Working To Reduce Alcohol-Related Fatalities'

Road traffic fatalities and injuries are a major concern in the realm of public health, and driving under the influence of alcohol increases the risks of these fatalities, which is a danger to motorists as well as pedestrians. In an exclusive interview with BW Businessworld, Carolyn Panzer, Global Director – Alcohol in Society, Diageo discusses the steps which can be taken towards promoting responsible drinking and curbing the menace of drunk driving. Edited excerpts: 

What can be the steps taken, and what are the steps taken towards responsible drinking and curbing of drunk driving to support road safety globally?

Road traffic injuries are a serious public health problem and a leading cause of death and injury around the world each year. It is common knowledge that driving while under the influence of alcohol increases the risk of being involved in crashes – not only with other motorists but also with pedestrians. This is why the UN has named 2011-2020 as the ‘decade of action for road safety’ and set a target of halving road fatalities as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Some countries have been more successful at reducing alcohol-related road injuries than others. Eighty-nine countries have comprehensive drunk driving laws that combine a maximum legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit ranging from 0.0-0.1 with enforcement and other measures.

Those that have been most successful have used a combination of awareness raising, consistent and high visibility enforcement of the legal BAC limit, strict penalties for drivers over the limit and tough enforcement of these penalties.

Diageo has a long history of working to reduce alcohol-related fatalities and crashes and supports numerous drink and drive prevention programmes around the world. These range from supporting high visibility enforcement through random breath tests in countries such as Ghana, Mexico and China, to funding safe rides and free public transportation, and supporting laws to establish maximum blood alcohol concentration levels in countries where none exist.

The success of our programmes across the world goes to show the need to work alongside governments and other partners with programmes and policies that try to change behaviour and reduce harm. For example, we have a unique, global partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research UNITAR that will see us impart training in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin and Central America, with a focus on countries with the highest death rates related to road traffic accidents. Over 60 countries will be invited to participate. The training activities will reach approximately 6,000 participants who will be a mix of government officials, young people, and other relevant stakeholders, through training workshops for government officials at the national and local levels, awareness-raising road shows for young people and high-level conferences on the issue of road safety.

Additionally, our signature “Road To Safety” intervention in India now in its 3rd year, is executed in partnership with state governments and reputed not-for-profit organisations. The Programme has provided capacity-building training to over 3,900 traffic officials in road safety, along with 6,000 commercial vehicle drivers.

What are the global trends in the moderate consumption of alcohol and drunk-driving related fatalities? 

Over the past decade, substantial progress has been made in Europe, North America and parts of Asia in reducing deaths and injuries caused by drink driving. While more work remains to be done in the fight to eliminate alcohol-related road crashes, clearly we must capitalise on and learn from successes.

In terms of alcohol consumption, we welcome the trend in many markets of people drinking moderately and choosing to drink better, not more. Nonetheless, we recognise there is more to do to ensure everyone who chooses to drink does so moderately, and we are determined to play our part. We produce some of the world’s best alcoholic drinks and want to do that in a responsible way. And, we want those who choose to drink, to drink responsibly. 

What role can innovation play in tackling societal alcohol issues?

Innovation can bring really exciting new approaches to tackling long standing issues such as drunk driving. For example, last year we launched a ground breaking immersive virtual reality experience, called Decisions, which uses technology to put someone into the passenger seat with a drunk driver and shows what it’s like to be involved in a drunk driving accident from multiple points of view.

This kind of hard hitting innovation can truly change the way someone thinks about an issue like this. Indeed, our own evaluation found that 75% of people who experienced ‘Decisions’ will prevent drink driving by planning ahead with a designated driver and 73% said they will stop other people from drinking and driving.

Decisions are available on YouTube so anyone with a VR headset can experience it for themselves, and with the number of active VR users forecasted to reach 171 million by 2018, Diageo will continue to look for more ways to reach adults with powerful messages that promote responsible drinking through similar VR experiences. 

What role can marketing campaigns play in tackling alcohol issues of society?

Brands can play a really powerful role in tackling alcohol issues, such as drunk driving. For example, since 2005, Johnnie Walker’s involvement in Formula One has been used as a platform to deliver the global responsible drinking campaign, ‘Join the Pact’, which invites consumers to make a commitment to never drink and drive and in return gives one kilometre of safe rides home for every commitment made.

I am hugely proud of this activity by a global Diageo brand. Johnnie Walker Responsible Drinking Ambassador, two-time Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen and McLaren Honda drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso have taken the campaign to over 40 countries collecting over 2.5 million signatures so far. Last month I was with Mika in London, helping to support this campaign, and the reaction from fans to the initiative is fantastic. 

What is the global policy position towards the responsible consumption of alcohol?

Our view is: for those that choose to drink, we believe alcohol has a positive role to play as part of a balanced lifestyle. Enjoying alcohol is an established part of life in many societies around the world, from family gatherings to experiencing music, sport and culture, or just as part of catching up with friends.

As a company, we reinforce a common sense understanding of moderation in everything we do and say. We believe this is the right thing to do because we know that harmful drinking and alcohol misuse can cause significant problems for society.  Encouraging moderation is not in conflict with our goals as an alcohol producer: in fact, it lines up very clearly with our values and aims as a business. We know that harmful drinking can damage our reputation, the reputation of our brands, and make it harder for us to run our business.

What are some of the global public health issues caused by irresponsible and harmful alcohol consumption, particularly of illicit alcohol?

Illicit or unrecorded alcohol includes informal forms of alcohol such as homebrew or toddy, but also counterfeit versions of branded products, for example when an expensive bottle of Scotch whiskey is filled with an inferior product to mislead consumers. It is hard to track how much illicit alcohol is consumed in any given country but we do know this is a serious issue in many countries around the world, including India.

Because these products are not part of the legitimate market, they may pose a risk to public health. For example, informal home-made alcohol does not have the same quality standards for its production so it is hard to know the strength of the product and it can become contaminated.

As well as public health concerns, illicit alcohol is not taxed, it, therefore, denies governments the revenues they receive from legal products and, as part of the shadow economy, also challenges the rule of law and may be associated with organised crime.