Most super-strength cider consum ed by ‘ill drinkers’

THE majority of all super-strength cheap cider sold in Scotland is being consumed purely by “dependent and ill” drinkers – with experts finding some individuals drinking as much as 59 units a week.

There has long been concern about the impact of low-priced strong cider which can cost as little as £2.52 for an entire recommended weekly limit of 14 units.

It has been been dubbed the “scourge” of efforts to fight drink problems in Scotland.

Now the first study of its kind, which interviewed patients attending hospitals and clinics for alcohol treatment, concluded this group accounts for most – if not all – consumption of these drinks.

Study leader Professor Jonathan Chick, visiting professor at Edinburgh Napier University, said the findings were surprising. He said: “Of course any manufacturer or retailer of these products will say we didn’t intend this just to be drunk by ill people. For some it is almost 100 per cent of their consumption, for others, they would drift to cider when they were short of money, so it would not be their preferred beverage.”

Researchers from Napier and Queen Margaret universities in Edinburgh found that the average strong cider consumption for patients admitted to hospital with an alcoholrelated condition was 42 units per week. For patients classed as “alcohol dependent”, the average was even higher at 59 units of strong cider during a typical ‘drinking week’.

The National Association of Cider Makers, which represents producers, did not comment.