Top doctor Chris Record backs cheap drink ban

Nov 11 2008 by Chris Robinson, The Journal

A LEADING North liver specialist has backed a ban on supermarkets selling cut-price drink to shoppers. Dr Chris Record, consultant at Newcastle General Hospital, said fruit and vegetables were being sold at a higher rate to subsidise “irresponsible” cheap alcohol.

Meanwhile, new figures released by Northumbria Police show the number of arrests for being drunk and disorderly increased by more than 500 from last year. Durham Constabulary, though, saw a slight reduction to 1,189 for the first 10 months of the year compared to 1,235 the previous year.

MPs have called for a ban on “happy hour” style drinks promotions, urging that supermarkets should be prevented from selling alcohol at a loss to encourage people into their stores.

Figures released yesterday show that last year 311 alcohol hospital admissions in the region involved children under the age of 16.

Dr Record said that patients with alcohol-related organ damage have been increasing year by year and that 40% of new cases of terminal liver disease are now found in patients under 40.

He added: “It’s the age that is getting progressively younger.

“Most of the pubs and members of the British Beer & Pub Association are pretty reasonable.

“The problem that they have is that people are arriving after pre-loading and getting tanked up before they go out.”

Dr Record said that some supermarkets were selling cheap bottles of cider at 7.5% for as little as 11p a unit.

He added: “It’s absolutely irresponsible.

“We want the supermarkets to stop selling any alcohol at below moderate prices, which is what they are doing at the moment.

“They are fooling the public and charging more for fruit and vegetables and bread, the healthy things we need.

“Customers are already paying more to subsidise discount drinking.”

Kevan Martin, chief executive of the North East Regional Alcohol Forum, said there was a “hidden harm” going unreported with people drinking at home.

The Sunderland-based charity, which offers support and services to people with alcohol addiction, has seen an increase in the number of young people attending.

He said that teenagers are now bypassing once trendy alco-pops for cheap bottles of cider and vodka.

Mr Martin added: “It is very worrying.

“There is more and more evidence saying that the younger a person starts drinking, the more likely they are to end up with alcohol problems.

“What we have to push across is that each individual is themselves responsible for how much they are drinking.

“We are not saying ‘don’t drink,’ but if you are going to drink, then do it at a safe level and in a safe environment.”

Mark Hastings, from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), added: “In contrast, the supermarkets have done nothing but increase their extreme discounting offers.

“We welcome the committee’s call for a ban on loss leaders when it comes to the sale of alcohol.”

But Richard Dodd, from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents supermarkets including Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, said there was “a lot of nonsense” spoken about below-cost selling.

He said: “No business could survive, let alone thrive, if it regularly sold alcohol at less than it was paying for it.

“We are opposed to minimum pricing. The vast majority of customers who buy alcohol do it as part of their weekly shop along with other goods, and take it home and consume it responsibly.”