So what’s the lowdown on low and no-alcohol drinks?
THESE days we all want to be healthier. With the 2019 MCA Pub Market Report showing that 40 per cent of us are choosing more low and no- alcohol drinks than a year ago, there’s clearly a growing trend for healthier options. But it’s not all good news.
Drinkers face a lack of clear information and the alcohol industry isn’t helping. Just what is “low and no alcohol”? Which is the “healthier option”? And how much should we be drinking anyway?
Drinkaware defines “no alcohol” as 0.05 per cent ABV or less yet several big brands have “alcoholfree” beers which are 0.5 per cent – 10 times higher. For “low alcohol”, the Advertising Standards Authority sets a ceiling of 1.2 per cent ABV. To most drinkers, a one per cent beer or wine is more like “no alcohol”, making “low alcohol” redundant. We need industry standards that better reflect the realities of what we expect from a “no”, “low”, or “light” alcohol product.
But it’s not just about booze. What about calories, carbs, sugars and salt? Currently, there is no legal requirement for UK alcohol products over 1.2 per cent ABV to feature any nutritional information. The industry-funded Portman Group advises that labels need only include information about drinking in pregnancy, the number of units contained, and the Drinkaware website. So buyers of Coke, milk or orange juice know what they’re drinking but buyers of beer, wine, and spirits do not. So much for “informed consumer choice”.
A lack of transparency is a failing but deceiving the consumer is downright criminal. In 2016, the UK’S Chief Medical Officers updated their Low Risk Drinking Guidelines, stating that: “To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level it is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.” Previous guidelines used a daily “safe limit” of
New products launched after 2016, even after September 2019, still feature misleading, unhealthy guidelines
3-4 units of alcohol for men (21-28 units per week) and 2-3 units for women (14-21 units weekly).
The Portman Group told its members that printing the new limits was voluntary. It then changed its advice, telling alcohol brands they had until September 2019 to update their packaging. Now in February 2020, you’ll be lucky if half the booze on supermarket shelves has the correct 14 unit guidance. What’s worse, rather than have no guidelines, far too many brands continue the advice of “3-4 units per day”. There can be no excuse for this. Beer is a fast-moving consumer good. There’s no “old packaging” to use up by now. In fact, new products launched after 2016, even after September 2019, still feature misleading, unhealthy guidelines. How is this acceptable – morally or legally?
Our alcohol industry needs to wake up to the huge change in healthier living. As the 2016 Guidelines stated, “People have a right to accurate information and clear advice about alcohol and its health risks”. Current legislation derives from the EU. Now that Britain has left the EU, the UK Government should legislate that alcohol products sold in the UK must detail their ingredients, full nutrition information, and the correct CMO “low risk” guidelines.
The Scottish Government’s Count 14 campaign and introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing has helped see a drop in Scotland’s alcohol consumption. The UK Government should follow suit and the alcohol industry should show it genuinely supports smart, healthier drinking.
Agenda is a column for outside contributors.
Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk