The Irish Community Action on Alcohol is delighted to announce that, after a year in development, the I-Mark Initiative: Supporting Independence from Alcohol Industry Influence will be officially launched in March 2022 by global alcohol policy expert, Professor Thomas Babor.
Since late 2021, the project lead, Paula Leonard has been promoting adoption of the I-Mark with a broad range of organisations and networks and this work will continue both before and after the launch in March. The I-Mark will be presented to the inaugural meeting of the World Assembly on Community Action on Alcohol which takes place on-line on Jan 27th.
‘The alcohol industry has no role in the formulation of alcohol policies, which must be protected from distortion by commercial or vested interests’
Dr Margaret Chan, Former Director General, WHO
There is an inherent conflict of interest between the motives of the alcohol industry and our health and well-being. The industry is a significant source of misinformation and confusion about alcohol harms and is increasingly working to influence alcohol policy globally. A core tactic is seeking partnerships with Governments, health services and NGO’s which present the industry as good corporate citizens, drawing attention away their primary goal of increasing global alcohol consumption. In Ireland, a range of initiatives are funded including research and schools-based education. With the I-Mark, we are seeking to engage the charity, community and voluntary sectors in a conversation about why independence from alcohol industry influence matters and through this process we are hoping to support organisations to sign up.
The I-Mark initiative includes a toolkit, with a summary of evidence, a check list of conflict-of-interest questions to guide decision making and membership forms. All organisations that sign up will have their name displayed on Alcohol Forum Ireland’s website and will have access to the I-Mark branding for inclusion in their work.
To hear more or request a presentation on I-Mark to your network / organisation, contact paula@alcoholforum.org
ICAAN is supported by: HSE and Alcohol Forum Ireland
