Friday 7 May 2021

Hey Prof! Where can I buy this "cheap, strong alcohol"?

From the BBC:

Alcohol killed more people in 2020 in England and Wales than in any of the previous 20 years, official data shows. There were 7,423 deaths from alcohol misuse last year [compared to a total population of about 65 million] - a rise of 20% from 2019, the Office for National Statistics says.

Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance - a coalition of charities and campaign groups - said the increase in deaths linked to alcohol was "devastating". "Each of these numbers represents a life of an individual cut short by alcohol consumption and a family that has been left in mourning."

Prof Gilmore said the government must urgently introduce an alcohol strategy which addresses health inequalities, improves access to treatment "and stops the sale of cheap, strong alcohol that is so harmful to health".

9 comments:

Bayard said...

Prof Gilmore said the government must urgently introduce an alcohol strategy which addresses health inequalities, improves access to treatment and, most importantly, only targets the sort of alcohol that is drunk by the working class, leaving middle and upper class alcoholics free to endanger their lives and others.
See also Minimum Pricing.

View from the Solent said...

I'll stick to expensive, strong alcohol (good malt, fine cognac) and remain safe.

Mark Wadsworth said...

B, can you be more specific about what kind of "cheap strong alcohol" he means, or you mean?

VFTS, that's glorious reverse logic.

Scrobs. said...

Here in Kent, back 100 years or so, the sort of beer they brewed was pretty dire, and probably only about 1-2% alcohol. I think it was a similar situation in Wales and other mining areas, where a guy underground all day really did need a few pints to replace the sweat from toil.

It's a fact that when the hop-pickers came down here for the season, the shop windows were wired up, and all that cheap beer - mainly a few teaspoonfuls of malt with a photograph of a hop garden all chucked into a big bucket of stream water - came in very handy!

Some supermarkets' own branded stuff isn't far off that...

Bayard said...

MArk, I suspect he is referring to high strength beers and ciders. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lightning_(cider) .

Mark Wadsworth said...

Scr, nothing like factory-made lager. Very reliable and predictable.

B, ah, White Lightning, has lowest alcohol duty per unit of "how drunk it makes you". But unfortunately, drinking cider makes me feel despondent somehow.

Scrobs. said...

Actually, you're right, Mark - I found a superb deal on San Miguel 'to clear', at 43p a bottle, so got a dozen cases for keepsakes...

Lola said...

" Prof Gilmore said the government must urgently introduce an alcohol strategy which addresses health inequalities, improves access to treatment "and stops the sale of cheap, strong alcohol that is so harmful to health".

No, Prof Gilmore. What the government (and you) need to do is to fuck right off and when you've done that do it again. And then keep doing it until you are right out of mine and everyone else's life. You prodnosing sanctimonious sermonising prat.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Scr, well done, that's you sorted for the next few weeks!

L, exactly that.