Much of the discussion on drugs has parallels with alcohol, the difference being the alcohol is legal and largely condoned in our society. However we also have moral panics about it, although only with poor peoples drinking, in case they are not economically productive. A homeless person drining in the streets is a social menace, while a middle class person at a table next to them is cafe society. Other groups can be demonised,  - the  early abolitionist movement had a largely unexamined link with racism (see article below), blaming non white people for the growth and prevalence of alcohol in society.

At the same time alcohol in excess can destroy lives and is one of the biggest killers. It is also an an exacerbating factor in things like domestic violence. However, alcohol is a big profitable business, and excessive use leads to even bigger profits, regardless of the social cost.  ‘Limbic capitalism’, a term coined by David Cartwright. He argues that capitalism actively takes advantage of our Limbic system to sell us things they know will damage us. The limbic system is the portion of the brain that deals with three key functions: emotions, memories and arousal (or stimulation). It is the part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviours we need for survival: feeding, reproduction and caring for our young. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter within the system. Cartwright  

Global industries basically encourage excessive consumption and even addiction. In fact, you could make that even stronger, and say not only do they encourage it, but now they’ve reached the point where they’re actually creating it.

Cartwright talks about how companies offer products that will produce a burst release of dopamine in a way that conditions and ultimately changes the brain and develops certain addictive behaviors, which is to say behaviors that are harmful. He talks about how the alcohol and cigarette industries deliberately targeted children, though products like alcopops and vaping. Interestingly, home office research at the time warned the government that vaping and alcopops were both likely to increase drinking and smoking, particularly  amongst young people, but the corporate lobby was too powerful - young people are a lucrative market , and if you get people addicted young, you can sell to them for decades  - the research was buried. 

The alcohol industry exerts significant influence, not only in its commercial activities but also over social and political perceptions and responses to alcohol. It develops alliances, both internally through trade associations and government, but also with non-industry allies, such as think tanks. It uses corporate social responsibility programmes – not altruistically for the social good, but as a tactical way to resist regulation and to market, increasing awareness and positive sentiment towards their product. Excessive binge drinking is part of the 'British Way of life', and getting drunk is a right of passage, sometimes with associated violence, although again only the poor are arrested, while rich in their own gangs, like the ‘Bullingdon Club’, which two Tory Prime Ministers were members of, routinenly trashed bars and restaurants, but they could pay their way our of trouble, and their behaviours was contructed as high Jinks. When some young people started turning away from alcohol, the industry responded by targetting extra strong guinness and Cognac at different Black Communities. 

Industry groups seek to influence research, both by funding researchers, but also by summarising and disseminating findings with their own spin on things. They also engage directly with policymakers – shaping and responding to consultations, but also through unsolicited lobbying. In certain cases, they use economic incentives, such as employment opportunities, to inform and bolster such lobbying.