A report claiming alcohol is not a cause of violence has been dismissed.

The alcohol industry funded report focused on the causes of violence in night-time entertainment areas in New Zealand and Australia.

It argued that a culture of violence, rather than the effects of alcohol, were primarily responsible for a large proportion of violence. 

Auckland University PHD candidate Nicki Jackson said the report's recommendations aren't backed by evidence.

"This is just another strategy by the alcohol industry to fund researchers to try and produce reports which back up things that they have been saying for decades, we see the same thing time and time again."

Ms Jackson is worried the report's been used to overturn licensing decisions and affect public policy.

"This is really going against all the years of research that we know, of what works, and we don't really want things like this to get in the way of what is sound and what is effective."