Cheap prices increase affordability for teen drinkers<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

It is a classic story of how deep price discounting leads to a sharp rise in affordability and pushes higher market demand for a product. The pressure group Alcohol Concern has released a survey which claims that cheaper alcohol fuelled by price promotions from the major supermarkets has given teenage drinkers a huge incentive to increase their weekly consumption.

Their report - entitled ‘Cheap at twice the price: Young People, Purchasing Power and Alcohol’ looks at how much alcohol the average 12-16 year old can buy with their weekly pocket money. Alcohol Concern estimate that it is now possible to purchase more than 3 times the recommended daily limit for adult men, and more than 4 times the recommended daily limit for women for as little as £7.30. Cheap alcopops, heavy discounts on bulk purchases of canned lagers and the continued willingness of retailers to sell alcohol to under-age drinkers have all combined to increase market demand.

‘For young people moving beyond curiosity to the stage of getting drunk with friends there has never been a better time to cheaply purchase large quantities of alcohol. The average pocket money in 2007 for 12-16 year olds is £9.53. A combination of rising disposable income and stable alcohol prices means it is now 65% more affordable to buy alcohol than it was twenty years ago.’ …more available here …

They are calling on the government to take steps to make alcohol less affordable and curb risky ‘binge drinking’. Their preferred solution is a rise in indirect taxes on alcohol sales in order to halt its ever growing affordability. The Portman Group, which represents the drinks industry has counted against the need for higher alcohol duties. In a press release, they argued that ‘international comparisons prove that higher prices would not deter binge drinkers or people addicted to alcohol.’

The Alcohol Concern report coincides with new research from OFSTED which finds that ‘48% of teens’ have tried alcohol’ In another report, the Health Alcohol Alliance says 13 children are admitted to hospital every day as a result of Britain’s growing alcohol misuse.

See also:

Alcohol disease hits the young hard (BBC) Campaigners want alcohol tax rise (BBC) Low prices ‘tempt teen drinkers’ (BBC) Tutor2u revision presentation on alcohol and market failure