Research Agendas on International Trade in Alcohol

Abstract

During 1981 and 1982 the World Health Organization (WHO) sponsored the Public Health Aspects of Alcohol Availability (PHAAA) project to study the impact of international trade in alcoholic beverages on the public health of developing countries. A central part of the project was the study of the structure and marketing practices of alcoholic beverage transnational corporations and the examination of WHO's role in assisting developing countries to address international trade issues. The PHAAA project was abruptly terminated by WHO in 1983, and WHO replaced the PHAAA project with other, less controversial, research topics. This article examines the history, findings, and suppression of the PHAAA project in light of the pressure placed on WHO by the Reagan Administration to curtail studies of international trade and corporate practices. The article concludes with a discussion of the need to return to the PHAAA research agendas and to address the political pressures placed on WHO to influence research priorities.