Supermarket booze 'like crack cocaine'
Supermarkets which sell cheap booze have been accused of behaving like crack dealers by a Bristol professor.
Addiction expert Martin Plant told an influential committee of MPs that retail giants had ignored years of warnings that low-cost alcohol kills.
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Expert: Professor Martin Plant
The University of the West of England Professor of Addiction Studies, who has been researching the social impact of alcohol and drugs for nearly 40 years, said studies showed education about the harmful effects had little impact on consumption but hiking up prices did – a move he wants introduced.
He said drinking among young people, particularly women, was rocketing, and teenagers went for the cheapest alcohol they could get.
Prof Plant said: "The degree of unrestrained and quite irresponsible marketing in the UK is the worst in Europe.
"Supermarkets at the moment are exhibiting the morality of the crack dealer.
"They have been told for several years that what they are doing is completely irresponsible. Cheap alcohol kills."
Government figures show that 31 under-17s were found guilty of drinking offences during 2007 in Avon and Somerset, compared with 11 in 2000.
Offences include drunk and disorderly behaviour and knowingly drinking alcohol underage.
Overall, 151 16 to 25-year-olds were slapped with fixed-penalty notices for drinking offences by the force in 2007.
Earlier this year Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson recommended imposing a minimum cost of 50p per unit of alcohol to end sales of cheap strong booze which fuels Britain's drink problem.
But that was immediately rejected by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who said the Government did not want to penalise the vast majority of sensible drinkers.
Prof Plant, however, backed the scheme, claiming it would save 3,000 lives a year as well as cutting staff absenteeism, hospital admissions and crime rates, while only costing the average drinker about £5 a year.
He was giving evidence yesterday to the House of Commons Health Committee, which is holding an inquiry into alcohol.
Teenagers across Europe have been surveyed annually since 1995 to examine the differences in attitudes.
Prof Plant said: "Binge drinking is eventful drinking.
"It's risky – teenagers indulging in binge drinking are more likely to use illicit drugs and smoke but also see themselves as much more likely to have fun.
"They seem to accept a degree of battle damage in terms of adverse effects. UK teenagers also report very high levels of adverse consequences. This contrasts significantly with teenagers in France who feel that drinking is less dramatic, less meaningful and less important."
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by Fred T, Californial
Saturday, April 25 2009, 5:35AM
“Dean. I wrote that there are other problems here, but where I live drug use is fairly low. I live in a town of about 130,000 and there is no part of it that I would be scared to walk at any time. It's called Simi Valley. Google "Simi Valley crime statistics.”
by peter, Mangotsfield
Friday, April 24 2009, 5:41PM
“Forgive me but I have been labouring under a delusion for many years.. I always thought that to be a "prof" a certain degree of intelligence was required seems like I was mistaken. I like a little tot & being a pensioner on a limited income I purchase my whisky at the affordable price in supermarkets, I can no longer meet my old mates in the pub for a pint ,& a fag, & a game of crib. After working for 51 years paying all my taxes etc I am reduced to a quiet solitary tipple at home a poor result after retirement , let the prof give a little more thought about the binge culture, but this time try to get it RIGHT.”
by Norman, Bemmie
Friday, April 24 2009, 4:29PM
“Steve Redcliffe, what are you talking about?”
by Dean, Fishponds
Friday, April 24 2009, 2:57PM
“Fred,
Yes its true we do live in a drinking culture here in the UK, but the ironic thing is in America you have a cronic crack problem. Know which i'd rather have”
by MisterX, The REAL World
Friday, April 24 2009, 2:53PM
“The only *crack* involved in this daft statement by this "so called" professor is the total *crackpot* behind the daft comments, the Prof himself! As said by so many it's the culture, addiction would be replaced by something else etc. Comments made by sensible, mature grown up people - but as obvious as the day is long to any of us with a single ounce of common sense. Prof Plant, are you off your rocker or is it a certain *Plant* you may be smoking?? :)
Life is about choice, I have a car and I have the choice to drive it 100 mph down the motorway with my eyes firmly closed or drive it sensibly with my eyes open, abiding by the speed limits, keeping my distance from other vehicles and indicating clearly, looking in my mirrors etc. There is such an extreme difference between the two it is unreal - Oh look, as unreal as the suggestion you as a Professor have made and attached your credentials and name to. Wake up and smell the coffee buddy or are we all not allowed to do that now either? LOL”
by Dean, Fishponds
Friday, April 24 2009, 2:50PM
“Great ideal!!!, make booze really expensive so kids can't afford it, the fact that you hit the rest of the population is a shame eh. In fact make booze so expensive that no-one buys it then our government will have no money to spend in the budget and the NHS will stop offering free care. The same people who drink too much will then go an actually buy crack, E's, weed etc which you can pick up for a 5er anyway. What a joke!”
by Fred T, Californial
Friday, April 24 2009, 1:45PM
“Its not the cost its the culture, the availability and the lax laws. It would also help if the police would enforce the laws that are already in place. Over here the police sometimes go in to bars looking for people that are obviously drunk. It isn't just the drunk that gets prosecuted it's the bartender, usually a 1000 dollar fine. Repeating the offence within a year results in a 5000 dollar fine and closing the bar for 30 days Drunks in public get arrested and fined and god help drunken yobs that give the police any aggro. There are plenty of problems here but binge drinking is nothing compared to the UK”
by Steve, Redcliffe
Friday, April 24 2009, 12:24PM
“Paul, the Professor didn't say "supermarket booze is like crack cocaine", in spite of what the headline to this story is. He said supermarkets are behaving like crack dealers by ignoring the warnings.
Norman, if everything that was obvious was also true then we wouldn't need science. It's obvious that the earth is flat and that the moon is the same size as the sun. Science is about testing things out, to find out whether what is obvious is also true.”
by colin, Bristol
Friday, April 24 2009, 11:42AM
“Vic,unfortunately not eveyone is like you and I, and the vast majority of the population,who do things in moderation,your point could be directed at road traffic regulations, and a host of other laws ,but it is a fact of life that Governments of all political pursuasions must legislate for the idiots amongst us.”
by Vic, Bristol
Friday, April 24 2009, 11:17AM
“I'd rather not be dictated to by a Nanny State and would like to see individuals taking responsibility for the way they live their lives.
Why does the response to social problems have to be ban it or regulate it?
If someone has a tendency towards addiction, then it's going to be something else if it's not the booze.”