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£10 food-and-wine deals 'fuelling alcohol abuse by middle classes'
Sri Carmichael, Consumer Affairs Reporter30 Oct 2009
Wine should be banned from supermarket meal deals because it fuels heavy drinking among middle-aged professionals, an alcohol abuse charity said today.
Campaigners gave a warning that the popular £10 "food and wine for two" offers run by Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Sainsbury's lure in commuters keen to "wind down", and looking to save money during the recession.
Drinking levels are higher among the middle classes than any other socio-economic group, government statistics show. Of the middle classes, 22 per cent drink on five days or more a week, compared with 11 per cent for manual workers, the General Household Survey published this year found.
Older drinkers also drank more regularly, with 21 per cent of the over-45s having alcohol at least five days a week compared with six per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds.
The British Liver Trust said selling wine as part of meal deals helped "normalise" excessive drinking. Spokeswoman Sarah Matthews said: "If a couple shares a bottle a night, the women would be more than double their limit by the end of the week and the man way over. That leads to serious health problems, including liver disease and premature death. These meal deals are prominently advertised and make regular drinking at that level seem like a perfectly acceptable everyday habit. They are totally wrong.
"Alcohol is now marketed as a staple part of our diet, the same as life's essentials like bread and milk."
Half a bottle of wine contains about five units of alcohol. Women are advised to limit consumption to two or three units a day and 14 units a week. Men are recommended to drink no more than four units a day, or 21 a week.
Alcohol Concern said: "People should be encouraged to moderate their intake. Half a bottle a day is too much. These deals look like great value. There should always be a healthy alternative offered to wine."
Official figures show deaths from alcoholic liver disease have soared. In 2007 in England and Wales, 4,580 people died from the condition and there was a 41 per cent increase in deaths between 1999 and 2005. The average age of deaths has fallen to 60 for women and 58 for men, four years lower than 35 years ago. Every month, 81 women and 168 men aged 35 to 59 die from drink-induced liver collapse.
Waitrose said it also offered ginger beer. Sainsbury's said its deals always included an alternative to wine. Marks & Spencer said it offers an non-alcoholic alternative.
Reader views (8)
How about a £10 "food and whisky for two" deal. I would definately go for that.
- Michael, Glasgow, 30/10/2009 16:11
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And the law that says you have to drink the whole bottle of wine with your meal that evening is????? A glass each does more good than harm, and the opened bottle will keep for several days.
I'm furious because my local Tesco isn't doing such an offer, although most Tesco's do.
- Mrs Redboots, London, UK, 30/10/2009 15:35
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Seriously, do these meddlers think that we buy these £10 deals so we can get tanked up on cheap wine on week nights? If I buy these offers (which at M&S are irregular and only ever at weekends), it doesn't mean that I'll even drink the wine with the meal, nor does it mean that I will even have all the food items together.
We buy it because it's good value and decent quality. Really, if there is any concern, it should be over the amount of calories, fat etc. in the tasty food offerings. But funnily enough, we’re able to read the labels and make our own choices about eating, as well as deciding if, when and how much we drink.
- Lisa, London, 30/10/2009 14:47
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Marks & Spencer now offer their fab 'Soft Brew'. Which is range of fruit flavoured ‘beer’ but they’re alcohol-free. Unlike most a-f beer this stuff tastes great and you get a 4 pack in the meal deal. Had friends round for dinner the other night and the ‘designated driver’ thought they were great.
- Sara Ling, London, 30/10/2009 14:09
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Alcohol sales should be restricted to designated areas of shops as in the past. The habit now is for bottles of wine and suchlike to appear alongside sandwiches or at shop entrances as special offers. The licences granted to them did not envisage the modern sales tactics being used.
- Jack Spratt, Richmond, Surrey, 30/10/2009 13:34
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Such arrant nonsense. Concerned pressure groups will soon be telling people to limit their visits to church so as to regulate their consumption of communion wine. This country will be completely emasculated soon.
- Squiz, Islington, 30/10/2009 13:00
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Why don't these people leave us alone.
- Nick Holland, glasgow, 30/10/2009 12:47
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oh get real! Why not let people enjoy themselves for once. If drinking wine with your meal is such a dangerous activity please explain why any major European country with a wine culture; France, Spain, Italy & Germany all have higher life expectancies than the UK.
- Spooks, london, 30/10/2009 11:52
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