Alcohol Alert; Institute for Alcohol Studies, 28 August 2025
58 organisations – including academics, health charities and advocacy groups – have written to the Education Secretary, urging the government to protect children from misleading classroom materials funded by industries whose products harm health.
The letter, reported by The Guardian, warns that companies are providing schools with resources about the very harms caused by their own products. Evidence shows such materials routinely misrepresent science, normalise risky behaviours, and shift responsibility onto individuals, including children.
Chris van Tulleken, Professor of Infectious Disease and Global Health at University College London said:
“We wouldn’t let Big Tobacco teach children about smoking. So why are we allowing the alcohol, gambling, and junk food industries into classrooms? Allowing these industries into schools distorts learning and helps industry establish the next generation of customers.”
The signatories argue that removing industry influence would support the government’s health mission to prevent ill health and reduce inequalities.
Recent investigations have revealed how far commercial interests reach into UK schools. Examples include:
-
Alcohol: Drinkaware materials encouraged students to reflect on whether “drinking alcohol makes you happy,” alongside cheerful images of young people drinking. Resources from the Alcohol Education Trust (now the Talk About Trust) and Diageo’s Smashed programme contain misinformation about the links between alcohol and cancer, and Smashed materials misinform about drinking during pregnancy.
-
Gambling: Industry-funded charities have supplied lessons teaching students how to use betting slips and promoting “responsible gambling” while downplaying marketing’s role and exaggerating programme effectiveness.
-
Food: Multinationals such as McDonald’s, PepsiCo and Kellogg’s have distributed branded lesson plans and sponsored breakfast clubs, giving companies subtle but pervasive access to children.
Dr May van Schalkwyk, Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, said:
“The evidence is clear. Industries whose products are undermining the health and wellbeing of children and young people fund harmful youth education programmes as part of their corporate strategies. Urgent action is needed to prevent this form of influence and conflicts of interest.”
The letter calls for clear government guidance – as introduced in Ireland – requiring schools to avoid materials funded by harmful industries. Educational content, it argues, should always be developed and delivered independently of vested interests.
Alcohol giant Diageo defended its Smashed initiative, claiming it had educated “hundreds of thousands of young people” and was valued by teachers.
The Department for Education responded that schools are responsible for choosing their own resources and ensuring they are suitable and impartial. Updated RSHE guidance warns schools to be cautious about using materials from organisations with “a broader interest in promoting harmful products.”
But health experts say the government’s hands-off approach is inadequate. A major problem is the expectation that teachers can identify and navigate industry tactics, even when they are hidden behind charities. Educators should not be left to police conflicts of interest. Instead, the government must provide safeguards to ensure all classroom materials are independent, trustworthy, and free from commercial influence.
In related news, the family of a woman who died from suspected methanol poisoning while travelling in Southeast Asia have succeeded in their campaign for compulsory education about the issue in schools. The government said it has now updated the curriculum on increasing personal safety while drinking alcohol, including how to avoid poisoning from potentially fatal substances, such as methanol.