Report: €10 buys enough alcohol for fatal overdose
Shoppers can now buy enough alcohol to cause a fatal overdose for less than €10, according to a report.
Alcohol Action Ireland’s annual alcohol market review and price survey reveals that drink is now so cheap that Irishmen can drink 17 standard drink measures for under €8.50 while women are able to consume their low-risk weekly threshold of 11 standard units for about €5.50.
The group said the continuing trend of low-priced alcohol on the market shows the “urgent necessity” to implement the Public Health Alcohol Bill including minimum unit pricing that will ensure “the low cost of the strongest, cheapest alcohol will be tackled”.
The survey conducted over seven days in July, in four locations highlights that cider products remain the cheapest, strongest alcohol products available to the off-trade consumer. Beer products are the second cheapest just ahead of wine and spirit products such as gin and vodka.
The HSE low-risk weekly guidelines on alcohol consumption for healthy adults aged 18 to 65 are 17 standard drinks for men and 11 standard drinks for women.
The study found that an adult male, consuming alcohol within these low-risk guidelines can reach the weekly threshold for €8.49, while an adult female can reach the weekly threshold for €5.49.
The study revealed the consumer can spend 0.499c for a standard drink of cider, 0.507c for a standard drink of beer 0.603c for a standard drink of gin, 0.618c for a standard drink of vodka, 0.736c for a standard drink of whiskey and 0.562c for a standard drink of wine.
The study also claims that it is a myth that large supermarkets are the sole suppliers of cheap drink pointing out that in many cases it is as cheap to buy gin or whiskey in a shop as a large supermarket.
It also points out that strong, cheap beer is often as affordable in small shops as it is in large supermarkets and cider is universally cheap in all levels of alcohol retailing.
Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and Alcohol Action Ireland board member Bobby Smyth said “at this level of affordability, for a tenner, you can buy enough drink to cause a fatal alcohol overdose”.
Head of communications at Alcohol Action Ireland Eunan McKinney hit out at the “dilution” of the Public Health Alcohol Bill.
“Given the ubiquity of cheap alcohol in all stores, the loss of the original structural separation measures proposed within the Public Health Alcohol Bill but lobbied against by the retailers and diluted by Seanad Éireann in 2017, remains a significant lost opportunity to curb alcohol marketing by intrusive visibility in-store,” he said.
Recent data from the Central Statistics Office shows that Irish people are increasing their spend on alcohol.
The National Income and Expenditure Annual Results 2017, published in July 2017, showed total consumption of personal income on alcohol beverages, including pubs, was €7.3bn which represents a 7.39% increase on 2016.
The Household Budget Survey 2015 to 2016 provides an insight into average weekly household expenditure on alcohol.
The total weekly expenditure on alcoholic drink and tobacco was €28.
Of this, €10.56 was on ‘drink consumed at home’ while €10.06 was on ‘drink consumed out’ with the remainder spent on tobacco products.
