Not on our street, Bud
DRINKS COMPANY CRITICISED BY COUNCIL FOR HANDING OUT FREE LAGER
A LAGER giant has been fined and branded “irresponsible” for handing out free booze on the streets of Newcastle.
Mini cans of 3.5% ABV Bud Light were being given to passers-by during the Easter holidays in some of the city’s busiest shopping areas.
Newcastle City Council had asked the drink’s parent company – Anheuser-Busch InBev – to stop, but promotion staff carried on.
The authority issued five £80 fixed penalty notices to the team and the £400 total has been paid in full.
Sue Taylor, from North East alcohol office Balance, said the marketing stunt was very worrying, especially as the city was busy with youngsters during the school holidays.
She said: “This is yet another example of the alcohol industry acting irresponsibly when it comes to the advertising of its products.
“It makes me even angrier to hear that the promotion has been taking place without the appropri- ate permissions and at a time when many children will be out and about in Newcastle enjoying the school holidays.
“Unfortunately this is just one of the ways in which the alcohol industry seeks to normalise its products. It’s sending all the wrong messages out, making the product appear desirable and less harmful, when in reality alcohol can lead to a whole host of long-term health risks, including at least seven different types of cancer.”
A Newcastle City Council spokesman said: “As soon as we became aware of this drinks promotion we spoke to the staff involved to advise them that they did not have permission to hand the drinks out.
them notices “They with under persisted fivethe and Environmental fixed-penaltywe issued Protection Act.”
As well as Bud Light, Anheuser Busch InBev makes well-known drinks such as Stella Artois and Beck’s.
The firm also came under fire for handing out mini Bud Light cans – marked with ‘have your first on us’ – in Liverpool, reportedly to homeless people. The Belgium-based brewer – which said it checked the ages of those it gave cans to – has said it has now stopped the giveaway. A spokesman said: “We have been made aware of this issue and would like to apologise to the council for any inconvenience caused. The agency we worked with paid its five penalty notices, relating to the five members of staff who were distributing branded materials without a permit in a designated area, immediately and in full. “As a company and founding member of the Portman Group, we are committed to not only promoting responsible drinking, but also to showing good moral conduct across everything we do. “We take these duties seriously and as such we are investigating how this happened and putting a hold on any further public sampling activity.”