University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

GAMBLING, SMOKING AND DRINKING: WHAT THE
VICTIMS EXPECT FROM THE RETAILERS
J.D. PRATTEN, S. WALTON and D.L.WRIGHT
Pratten is a Principal Lecturer in Business Studies, Department of Business and
Management Studies, MMU Cheshire, Manchester Metropolitan University
Ms. Walton is employed in the gambling in industry.
Mrs. Wright is Head of the Department of Business and Management Studies, MMU
Cheshire, Manchester Metropolitan University
Abstract
862
Corporate social responsibility and the expectations of stakeholders is well researched. Fewer
scholars have considered those industries which might be regarded as damaging or unethical.
Some stakeholders may have been included in such studies, but those who are damaged by the
products - the victims and their families and friends - have not been surveyed. This is an attempt
to redress the balance. This paper considers the dangers faced by heavy users of tobacco, alcohol
and gambling. A short analysis of the CSR statements made by the large UK firms in these
sectors and the expectations of other stakeholders firms is followed by a series of interviews with
heavy users and addicts to discover their attitudes towards the providers and what these firms
should do to eliminate the problems they have faced. The results suggest that their expectations
are very low.
What is original/value of paper
Key words: Tobacco, Alcohol, Gambling, Addiction, Corporate Social Responsibility
Introduction
Much of what we do can be harmful if taken to excess. This includes what we eat
and drink, as well as our leisure and work activities. Self-preservation and common
sense restrain most of us, but some products are addictive, and the vulnerable
sections of the community may need some protection from these. Coussins noted that
‘the majority of people who drink alcohol enjoy it without causing harm to
themselves or others’ (Portman Group), but others may become alcoholics. Volberg
(2001 p.1) pointed out that, ‘for most people gambling is an enjoyable, if occasional,
experience'. However, the same author added a rider to this: 'for a few, it may lead to
debilitating problems that harm the people close to them and the community’. As
Gupta and Derevensky (1998 p. 18) put it, 'the need to understand what differentiates
this small subset of individuals is what feeds addiction theorists and fuels research'.
This paper does not attempt to discover the reasons for addiction. Nor does it seek to
discover what society believes should be done. Instead, it considers specific group of
stakeholders, the heavy users of alcohol and gambling as well as reformed addicts to