The politics of voluntary self-regulation: insights from the development and promotion of the Australian Beverages Council's Commitment.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the evolution of the soft drink industry's use of self-regulation as a response to obesity and examine the motivations driving its development and the strategies used to promote it to policy makers. DESIGN: We used a data set of industry documents published by the Australian Beverages Council (ABC) between 1998 and 2016. We analysed how the ABC voiced its political motivations about self-regulation and what internal nutrition policies it developed prior to its public launch of self-regulation. We also analysed two promotional strategies: funding research and writing policy submissions. SETTING: Australia. RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2006, the ABC shifted from a defensive ..