Opinions - supermarket beer cheaper than water

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Supermarket beer cheaper than water

By Sophie Borland

Last Updated: 6:32am GMT 12/11/2007





Supermarkets are selling beer at a cheaper price than bottled water and risk fuelling the binge-drinking crisis, it has been claimed.
Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda now offer lager at just 22p a can, which is significantly less per pint than own-brand bottled water.
The major supermarkets are locked in a fierce price war which means that in some cases cans are so cheap that the stores actually pay more in excise duties than they charge at the till.
Last week Asda cut the price of its Smart Price Lager to just 22p for a 440ml can following a similar move by Tesco. Sainsbury's has been offering its Basics range lager for just 22p since June 2005.
All the top three supermarkets sell lager of between two and three per cent alcohol content at the equivalent of just over 28p a pint or 50p a litre.
In comparison, bottles of their cheapest own-brand mineral water cost just over 31p a pint, or 56p a litre, while soft drinks such as cola cost 30p a pint, or 56p a litre.
Public health bodies say the supermarkets are sending out the wrong message.
Don Shenker, director of policy for Alcohol Concern, said: "The fact that lager is cheaper than their own brand of cola per litre is appalling.
"This sends out entirely the wrong message to the young drinkers we are trying to steer away from alcohol abuse. We would urge the supermarkets to seriously review their pricing policy."
Sandra Hidgely MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for public health, said: "Britain is in the midst of a binge-drinking crisis and prices like these do not help."
The findings come a week after the Government warned that the number of young people treated for alcohol abuse had risen by 40 per cent in a year.
According to the National Treatment Agency, children as young as ten are suffering from illnesses related to alcohol abuse.
Last week experts claimed that the price of alcoholic drinks were now so low that children could buy them with their pocket money.
A spokesman from Tesco said: "In common with other retailers and to remain competitive we sell a range of beers at different prices to suit all budgets. Tesco Value lager has half the alcohol content of standard lager."
Asda released a statement that said: "We were reluctant to bring our price down but we are the price leader and we cannot afford to be exposed by our rivals."
A spokesman for Sainsbury's said: "The vast majority of our customers who buy alcohol do so as part of their regular, large grocery shop. Our research shows that they consume it over a period of weeks and months or they buy it for a special occasion such as a party."
Original story here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...2/nbeer112.xml


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