Alcohol Help

Alcohol Concern responds to proposals contained in Greg Mulholland MPs Ten Minute Rule Bill to oblige the on-trade to offer a range of glass sizes

Srabani Sen, Chief Executive, said:

This bill, which enjoys cross party support, raises some important questions about the types of help we put in place to enable people to make healthier choices. Surveys of the public repeatedly point to widespread confusion around the sensible drinking message and vagueness about what constitutes a unit, and how to keep track of them.

One of the reasons behind this is that it is becoming more difficult to rely on the rules of thumb that once served to help us keep track of how much were drinking. Many of the guidelines, such as a small glass equalling one unit are now outdated as alcoholic drinks become stronger and serving sizes get larger.

We regularly receive letters from drinkers complaining of premises where there is no longer any choice about the size of glass in which they can enjoy their drinks. A number of factors underpin Britains unhealthy relationship to alcohol. But feeding it is the extent to which social life is saturated with cheap, readily available alcohol. The large glass of wine that the customer doesnt order is just one symptom. For this reason, we support the call to oblige licensees to provide consumers with a genuine choice of glass size.

Alcohol Concern