Low cost alcohol ban unlikely to deter binge drinkers
A ban on retailers selling alcohol at below cost price, due to be introduced next month, is unlikely to deter binge drinkers, a new study says.
Newcastle University researchers visited 29 stores in the city and found less than two per cent of 2,000 alcohol promotions on display were below cost price.
The study recommends setting a higher threshold of £0.50 per unit, which would affect a quarter of the promotions in the study. This threshold was first suggested by Sir Liam Donaldson in 2009 when he was Chief Medical Officer.
Colin Shevills, director of Balance, the North East Alcohol Office, said alcohol could be purchased for £0.12 a unit, which meant a man could drink his recommended daily limit of three to four units for just £0.48.
Sarah Hanratty, head of external affairs at the Portman Group, a social responsibility body for alcohol producers, says “blanket approaches” are “unfair to the responsible majority”.
“This is about changing behaviour and, to do that, we need targeted health interventions, combined with concerted education and the effective enforcement of existing laws which prevent underage sales and stop licensees selling alcohol to those who are already intoxicated.”
