University of Helsinki
During the past two weeks Thomas Babor has been a visiting scholar at the CEACG. The reason for his visit in Helsinki this time is a collaborative book on gambling policy which he is planning and organizing with CEACG’s researchers.
The book will be a continuation of a series of books since Alcohol Control Policy in Public Health Perspective by Kettil Bruun et al, which has been updated in Alcohol Policy and the Public Good, Alcohol No Ordinary Commodity and Drug Policy and the Public Good.
– Most research on gambling problems is about individuals. This book will collate evidence on how gambling problems can be minimized in populations, explains Tom.
Tom’s stay in Helsinki developed into several guest presentations and intense input at seminars and work meetings. Tom was also interviewed by the Finnish press and participated in conferences both in Denmark and in Norway during his visit.
The industry influences policy
Tom is one of the true giants in the substance research field. He is known for his massive work covering many different subject fields in the area of public health, typically in a global work surface. His interest has especially been in systems and techniques according to which policy, prevention and treatment can be measured, arranged, and conceptualized. He is also Associate Editor-in-Chief and Regional Editor of the US for the international journal of Addiction.
During the past decade Tom has to an increasing degree come to view the industries – that is the producers, distributors, and marketers of unhealthy commodities — as a natural part of how to understand public health policy.
-The corporations are growing into large consolidations with sometimes hundreds of brands, he explains.
He sees that the space given to the industry agendas in any given society is a true measure of its control policies.
Alcohol marketing
One of the many projects that Tom is intensely involved in at the moment is a global initiative to achieve a systematic understanding of how alcohol marketing influences young consumers in their daily whereabouts and living environments.
The study, which involved countries from different continents, uses among other things, panel data from estimations of the marketing content’s concordance with official codes and restriction. The design is sensitive to national variations but the total mapping will still constitute and prove more than the addition of its single parts. Especially the data from the developing world is valuable:
– It can be difficult to estimate the influence by advertisement in western prosperous societies where alcohol is an integrated part of society and culture. From early childhood alcohol plays a natural part in people’s lives and the drinking will be initiated due to many different factors which support each other. On the African continent, on the other hand, we can more clearly see how the industry actually enters new markets in regions where alcohol has not been a natural part of everyday life. It can come to have great negative effects on the health of the populations in these regions and especially youngsters.
At CEACG we feel that Tom’s stay in Finland has been all too short. In his typical modest view on his own contribution he jokes of his own input:
– The definition of an expert is just someone from out of town with a slide show.
Tom’s generosity and friendliness has been inspiring for all of us, and we feel that the acuity and intellectual sharpness in his analyses is a true treasure for whomever in the world is lucky enough to be working with him at the moment.
Helsingin Sanomat 26.11.2013. Interview with Thomas Babor