https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7003-5362
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Abstract
To mitigate alcohol-related harm, various stakeholders have advanced the construct of ‘responsible drinking.’ However, clarity regarding ‘responsible drinking’ in evaluation research is limited. Additionally, the alcohol industry often uses the term without any mention of clear limits or meaning. At this point it is unclear whether stakeholders are adopting a shared understanding of the ‘responsible drinking’ concept; such a shared understanding is essential for the development, implementation, and evaluation of consumer protection strategies that rest on individual responsibility. Therefore, we sought to describe 6 stakeholders’ use of the construct. Stakeholder sectors included (1) academics, (2) government organizations, (3) alcohol industry, (4) alcohol treatment centers, (5) U.S. higher education institutions, and (6) addiction professionals’ organizations. We searched a total of 133 sources representing these stakeholder sectors. Despite frequent use of the term ‘responsible drinking’ or a close derivative, only 17 sources provided an explicit definition. Coding revealed that the ‘responsible drinking’ message is still ambiguous, which means that consumers are not being provided clear harm avoidance guidance. Future research should create a shared conceptualization of responsible drinking to include all dimensions relevant to the construct. Furthermore, alternative phrases such as ‘safe drinking’ or ‘moderate drinking’ may be used to emphasize different dimensions of responsible drinking and may warrant further study. Like responsible drinking, other terms will require careful development, as well, but might benefit in terms of acceptability and reception from the absence of a positive connotation.
Disclosure of interest
Dr. Howard J. Shaffer has received funding from the Dunes of Easthampton, a residential addiction treatment program, for serving as a clinical consultant. He received reimbursement from Universite Laval for travel expenses related to his role as a member of the international working group on responsible gambling research, but no honorarium. He receives royalties for his many books. With his colleagues, his most recent book is Responsible Gambling: Primary Stakeholder Perspectives (2019) from Oxford University Press. He has received consulting funds from Harvard Medical School for authoring articles for the Harvard Health Blog and Harvard Health Publications. He has received various honoraria for lecturing throughout the world. Dr. Shaffer also has received funding for consultation from the American Psychological Association, Las Vegas Sands Corp., Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg, LLP, Winston & Strawn LLP, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, LLP. Dr. Shaffer is the first incumbent of the Morris E. Chafetz Professorship in Psychiatry in the Field of Behavioral Sciences at Harvard Medical School. Using funds primarily derived from the alcohol industry, the Foundation for Advancing Alcoholism Research (FAAR) created this endowed chair. During the past 5 years, Heather M. Gray has served as a paid grant reviewer for the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG; now the ICRG), received travel funds from the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals/The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, received honoraria funds for preparation of a book chapter from Universite Laval, received travel funds and honoraria from the ICRG, received an honorarium from the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico, and received course royalty fees from the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Education. Dr. Gray is a non-paid member of the New Hampshire Council for Responsible Gambling. During the past five years, Debi A. LaPlante has served as a paid grant reviewer for the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG; now International Center for Responsible Gaming), received travel funds, speaker honoraria, and a scientific achievement award from the ICRG, has received speaker honoraria and travel support from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, received honoraria funds for preparation of a book chapter from Universite Laval, received publication royalty fees from the American Psychological Association, and received course royalty fees from the Harvard Medical School Department of Continuing Education. Dr. LaPlante is a non-paid member of the New Hampshire Council for Responsible Gambling and the Conscious Gaming advisory board.
Disclosure statement
As noted, the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR) funded this research. FAAR is a not-for-profit organization founded and funded by a group of distillers. FAAR played no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript preparation.