Agendas, venues and alliances: New opportunities for the alcohol control movement in England

Alcohol issues and problems are once again being given a high political and media profile in Britain. However, the tendency of the alcohol control lobby to adopt a rationalist approach and to over rely on the persuasive powers of science may jeopardize policy initiatives. The political system of Britain today is inherently flexible and the way in which scientific knowledge and evidence is translated via the media and by political intermediaries is important. It is suggested that both cultural change and policy shifts can come about if attention is paid to both the venue and the discourse in which alcohol issues are debated, allowing new alliances to flourish.