Life Skills Education

Archive for the ‘Alcohol’ Category

Supermarkets are offering more discounts on alcohol despite calls to end special deals.

By Myra Butterworth, Personal Finance Correspondent

The latest statistics reveal a quarter of the all beer sold online at Tesco, Asda, Ocado and Sainsburys was on offer last month, up seven per cent on the same period a year ago. Increases were also seen on the sale of spirits and wine.

Chief medical officers are calling for minimum prices per unit of alcohol, warning lower prices are linked to greater alcohol-related health problems.

Don Shenker, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, said: “Supermarkets pretend to champion the consumer and yet their alcohol price discounting has led to a direct rise in alcohol related health harms and costs to the NHS and police.

“When will the supermarkets realise their use of alcohol as a loss leader is ruining the health of this country and leading to more crime and disorder?”

And Dr Chris Record, a liver disease consultant based in Newcastle, said: “The problem is that alcohol prices have been falling and is now much more affordable than it was a couple of decades ago. And if you reduce the price of alcohol suddenly, consumption goes up.”

The figures from MySupermarket suggested the amount of red and white wine sold with a discount has doubled in the past year from 7 per cent to 14 per cent. Spirits sold with a discount have also increased from 5 per cent to 8 per cent.

But retailers insisted lower prices did not encourage irresponsible drinking and were about offering the best value to shoppers.

Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers are simply competing to offer customers value. They shouldn’t be criticised for doing that.

“Irresponsible drinking is not about price. It’s about culture. We already have some of the highest alcohol taxes in Europe. Banning discounts or forcing up prices won’t make a difference. Changing attitudes will and that’s what retailers are engaged in.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “We will continue to look at how we can tackle the problems caused by cheap alcohol.

“We will consider this within a framework which respects the rights of responsible consumers while making a real difference to the types of excessive drinking that damage individuals and families and are a cost to our society.”

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Health bosses in the North East have urged the government to introduce a minimum price for alcohol.

Thirteen directors of public health have signed an open letter to ministers condemning the sale of alcohol at “pocket money prices”.

The call coincides with a study from the region’s alcohol awareness group, Balance, which says a can of lager can be bought for just 22p.

Supermarkets say they already have checks in place and act responsibly.

Colin Shevills, director of Balance, which is funded by the Department of Health, North East NHS trusts and the region’s three police forces, said supermarket prices for alcohol were “ridiculously low”.

He said: “Alcohol is a primary instigator in violent crime, increases hospital admissions which drain vital NHS resources and encourages absenteeism and causes disability.

‘Ridiculously low’

“Supermarkets aggressively promote alcohol, which they routinely sell below cost to encourage shoppers through their doors.

“The ridiculously low prices make it clear that alcohol pricing cannot be left to supermarkets and off licences alone.”

Among those who have signed the letter are Sue Milner, director of public health for Northumberland, Nonnie Crawford, director of public health in Sunderland, Meng Khaw, director of public health for Newcastle and North Tyneside and Miriam Davidson, director of public health in Darlington.

Durham Chief Constable John Stoddart said: “While illegal drugs tend to get all the headlines, the issue of alcohol misuse presents us with serious problems right across the whole spectrum of criminality.”

Balance said alcohol-related hospital admissions across the North East were 62% higher than the national average and that the region’s police forces dealt with more than 6,000 domestic abuse cases where alcohol was a factor between 2008 and 2009.

Richard Dodd of the British Retail Consortium said: “Irresponsible drinking is a cultural issue. It’s about the way we are brought up and our attitude to alcohol.

“We have the highest alcohol taxes in Europe in the UK and that tells me there is not the direct relationship between price and irresponsible consumption.”

Last month Home Secretary Alan Johnson told the BBC he had not ruled out the possibility of using pricing measures to make alcohol less easily available, but such a move was not “a magic bullet”.

He said: “We don’t want to ensure that people… on good incomes can just carry on as normal, but responsible drinkers on low incomes are hit.”

In Scotland, the government is pushing for a minimum price for alcohol to tackle drink-related problems.

Laws requiring young people to prove their age were introduced in the country last year.

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Children as young as 11 are drinking two bottles of wine a week – more than the recommended limit for an adult woman – official figures reveal.

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor

Children in the north of the country drink and smoke more than those in the south, data from the NHS Information Centre has found.

In particular, girls aged between 11 and 15 in the Midlands and the North are drinking more than the recommended limits for adult women.

They are consuming around a bottle and a half of wine a week.

Adult women are advised not to drink more than two to three units a day (or up to 14 units a week) and men not more than three to four (or up to 21 units a week) with two alcohol free days a week.

Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer, said last year that parents should not let their children drink alcohol at all.

More than one in four girls in the North East had a drink in the past week and on average consumed 15.5 units. Girls in the East Midlands, North West and Yorkshire and Humber drank similar amounts.

The pattern was less clear for boys but in general those in the Midlands and the North were more likely to have drunk in the last week than those in the south and to have consumed more.

More than one in four boys in the North East had a drink in the last week and on average drank 20.2 units, the equivalent of eight and a half pints of strong lager or more than two bottles of wine.

Boys and girls in London were the least likely to drink and average consumption of those who did was also lower.

The data, based on surveys of over 23,000 children in England, showed boys drank more than girls in almost all regions.

It is the first time that alcohol consumption for children aged 11 to 15 has been calculated by region.

Previous studies have shown that fewer children are drinking alcohol but those who do consume large amounts.

On smoking children in the north of the country were more likely to have smoked a cigarette in the last year than those in the south and were more likely to smoke regularly.

Children in all of the regions were less likely to have tried drugs than cigarettes or alcohol.

A fifth of 11 to 15 year olds in the North West had taken drugs in the last year compared with around one in seven in the South West.

One in eight children in the North West said they had taken cannabis in the last year compared with one in 12 in the North East.

Tim Straughan, Chief executive of The NHS Information Centre, said: “The report shows there are significant regional differences in the percentages of young people who smoke, drink or use drugs.

“It is interesting to note that London has such comparatively low levels of drink, drug and alcohol use among its 11 to 15-year-olds.

“In contrast, youngsters in the North East are more likely than their peers anywhere else in the country to smoke and drink alcohol. However, they are the least likely to take cannabis.”

Don Shenker, Chief Executive of Alcohol Concern, said: “Today’s figures are very worrying. We’ve seeing a slight decline in the number of children who drink, but those who do drink are drinking much more.

“Too many young people are now drinking at or above safe adult levels, yet their bodies are less able to cope with the harm alcohol can cause.

“We’ve already seen an almost one thousand per cent increase in liver cirrhosis deaths in the 25-44 age group. This is impacting our health services and the lives of families across the UK.”

He said the government must heed advice and opt for minimum pricing of alcohol which would mean it could not be bought at pocket money prices.

Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians and Chairman of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance said: “These figures indicate that for many young teenagers drinking has moved beyond experimentation and into far more dangerous territory.

“Regular consumption at these levels, especially when compressed into heavy sessions at the weekend puts boys and girls at considerable risk.

“At this age the adolescent mind is still developing, and for an unlucky minority heavy drinking so early will have profound and long lasting implications for their learning and problem solving skills. Tougher penalties for those found to be selling alcohol to youngsters are welcome, but parents and families also have a responsibility to help their offspring make healthy choices.”

Children’s Minister Dawn Primarolo said: “I am pleased that these statistics show a decline in the number of young people smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs.

“The Government has been committed to providing young people with the right advice and support they need to make safe and sensible decisions. Importantly we have given parents, carers and schools additional guidance and expert advice so that young people can turn to a trusted adult to discuss their concerns about smoking, drinking and drugs.”

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