Category: Daytime
Date: 02.10.2005
Printable version
Britain's Streets of Booze - every weekday this week at 9.15am on 91Èȱ¬ ONE
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Just one can of super strength lager contains more units of alcohol than the Government's daily recommended safe amount, a 91Èȱ¬ Daytime Current Affairs series reveals tomorrow (Monday 3 October 2005).
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On the eve of the biggest ever change in licensing laws in the UK, Britain's Streets of Booze (91Èȱ¬ ONE, 9.15am, every weekday this week) delves into the depths of a booze fuelled Britain and looks at what effects alcohol already has on the nation and what further problems could be encountered as a result of the 24-hour licensing laws.
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The first programme in the Britain's Streets of Booze series, Super Strength Hell, highlights the misery and chaos caused by super strength lager and cider, and reveals that little is being done about it.
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The programme also reveals:
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the discrepancy between the alcohol content of some super strength drinks - around 9% per can or 4.5 units - and the Government's recommended daily safe drinking levels of three to four units per day for men and two to three units per day for women
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it can take a healthy man more than four hours to process the alcohol from one can of super strength lager or cider
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one can of super strength cider can cost as little as 59p which appeals directly to young and underage drinkers as well as those with alcohol dependency problems
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some drinkers featured in the programme are convinced that super strength drinks are purposely targeted at alcoholics and street drinkers who need to get drunk quickly for little money
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that super strength can be more addictive and difficult to kick than heroin
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the alcohol content of two cans of super strength lager is the equivalent of an average bottle of wine
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the super strength lager market has an annual retail value of £159m (AC Nielsen)
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The Portman Group - a company set up by the UK's leading drinks producers to promote responsible drinking - admits that super strength drinks have been "hijacked by people with alcohol dependency"
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The number of alcohol related deaths has increased by nearly 20% in four years (Office for National Statistics).
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The programme also follows the campaign being launched by Thames Reach Bondway, a leading UK homelessness charity, as it attempts to lobby the Government and breweries to tackle the issues super strength drinks present.
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Jeremy Swain, Chief Executive of Thames Reach Bondway, believes most people don't know the truth about the high alcohol content of super strength drinks and that it's not just alcoholics and 'street drinkers' who consume super strength but young children can be drawn into drinking them because they are so cheap.
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He says: "Super strength lagers are devastating the lives of many thousands of homeless men and women and the companies manufacturing these products are well aware that homeless people addicted to alcohol make up a substantial part of the super strength market.
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"Many of Thames Reach Bondway's homeless clients have severely damaged minds and bodies as a result of consuming these highly addictive products which remorselessly drive them to an early grave.
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"We must end the mass consumption of these lagers which are cheaply available at off-licences across the country. And who will miss them? Certainly not the families who have lost loved ones prematurely through the impact of these excessively strong drinks."
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Subniv Babuta, Britain's Streets of Booze series producer, said: "We were genuinely shocked when we discovered the extent of the problems super strength drinks seem to cause.
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"The manufacturers insist that these drinks are not marketed at any group in particular, yet it's clear that some of the most vulnerable people in our society are attracted to them because they are cheap, very strong, and easy to get hold of."
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The series of five programmes will be shown from Monday 3 October to Friday 7 October on 91Èȱ¬ ONE at 9.15am.
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The other programmes in the series are Bingers, looking at the culture of binge drinking; The Innocents, looking at drinking when pregnant; Tanked up Teenagers, exploring alcohol misuse by those aged between 14 and 18; and On the Wagon which spotlights the lives of people desperately trying to kick alcohol addiction.
