You’ve had quite enough prosecco
RESTAURANT RAPPED FOR ‘EGGING ON’ WOMEN TO BINGE-DRINK
AN Italian restaurant chain has been rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority for encouraging bingedrinking with a bottomless prosecco deal.
In recent months, deals and promotions offering unlimited glasses of the fancy fizz have become commonplace as bars and restaurants look to cash in on the trend for sparkling wine.
However campaigners fear the deals at bars and clubs have become a “socially acceptable” mask for a ticking binge-drinking timebomb.
Prezzo restaurants, which has branches in Eldon Square, Cramlington and Dalton Park, has been warned by the ASA over a promotion email to customers.
A complaint was made to the authority which concluded the advert was in breach of advertising rules as it encourages excessive consumption of alcohol.
The restaurant chain has been warned not to use the advert which featured several overflowing glasses of prosecco again.
Colin Shevills, director of Balance, the North East Alcohol Office, said bottomless prosecco deals encourage binge drinking, especially among women. He said: “We’re seeing a phenomenon mainly targeted at women with a rise in prosecco as the female drink of choice. But what these bottomless promotions aren’t mentioning are the very real harms of drinking, which is particularly worrying when we’re seeing increases in alcohol consumption amongst the female population.”
A typical bottle of prosecco contains more than eight units and a strength of around 11%abv, weaker than an average bottle of wine, which is stronger with percentages ranging from 12 to 14%.
However, health chief Dr George Rae has said the difference is not significant and drinking prosecco should be approached with moderation.
Dr Rae, who is a GP in Whitley Bay and the North East chair of the British Medical Association, said: “If you are getting the incentive to drink a bottle, two bottles of prosecco, that would undoubtedly be something that, if you were doing it regularly, would be detrimental to your health.
“I don’t think any doctor is going to say, if there aren’t any contraindications, that you can’t have a drink and enjoy yourself — in moderation some alcohol, especially red wine, can even be good for your health.
“But we are finding a lot of patients who will say ‘I only drink at the weekend,’ and when we ask what they drink at the weekend, it’s maybe 25-30 units. If you are drinking that amount at the weekend on a regular basis, you are likely to end up with a health problem.”