Until healthcare policy addresses the capitalist elephant in the room, health research will forever be trying to treat the symptoms rather than tackling the root causes.
‘One to three drinks a day for most men… women are more sensitive to alcohol, so they are advised to drink less—one to two drinks.’ These words were spoken in 2016, during the Nigerian ‘Beer and Health’ conference, an annual one-day symposium, sponsored by Heineken-Nigerian Breweries. The symposium was introduced to create awareness of the ‘health and nutritional benefits of beer consumption’. Despite the claims of beer preventing cancer, reducing the incidence of kidney stones, enhancing vitality and cardiovascular health, and facilitating longevity and cognition among the elderly, it is difficult to ignore the clear tensions between the health benefits argued by presenters and fears people have around the health impacts of overconsumption of beer.
In the company’s own words, Heineken is the most trusted international beer brand in the world. In 2020, according to its annual reports, while Heineken saw a marginal decline in revenues by 0.4 per cent globally, only 25 markets grew in double digits, including Brazil, China, the UK, Singapore, Poland and Nigeria.
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