Interviews of 200 publicans finds three-quarters back tougher drink-drive rules, while nearly two-thirds say supermarket and off-licence alcohol is too cheap, despite trade bodies lobbying against these policies on publicans’ behalf
Cheap supermarket alcohol is harming not just health but Britain’s pubs, according to a major new report that interviewed 200 publicans published today by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) and Balance, the North East’s alcohol harm reduction programme.
Drinking has shifted decisively from the pub to the home in recent decades – today, around three-quarters of alcohol in the UK is bought through supermarkets and off-licences, with rapid online deliveries also now in the mix. Shop-bought beer is now 245% more affordable than in 1987, against just 54% for beer bought in a pub. Pubs are facing well-documented pressures, from the wider economy to changing drinking habits.
‘Behind the bar: what publicans really think about alcohol policy’ finds publicans overwhelmingly blame that price gap for pub closures, among other issues:
- 62% of publicans say alcohol sold from supermarkets and off-licences (the ‘off-trade’) is too cheap.
- 60% want government to close the gap with the off-trade.
- 1 in 4 name cheap off-trade alcohol as one of their three biggest business challenges, alongside rent, energy, and staffing costs.
Publicans’ own priorities point towards the same policies that reduce alcohol harm: narrowing the on/off-trade price gap, tougher drink-drive laws, and investment in treatment and awareness.
- 58% back minimum unit pricing in England (79% in the North East), against just 14% opposed.
- 75% support a tougher drink-drive limit – including rural publicans by two to one, who trade bodies have claimed would be hardest hit.
- Over half back health warnings on bottles and cans.
- 46% want alcohol marketing rules brought into line with those already governing junk food, against 17% opposed.
- 68% support more education and public awareness campaigns
Adam Taylor, who runs a wet-led community pub in Barrow-in-Furness, said:
We don’t need alcohol to be cheaper. We need government to recognise the difference between a pint served in a regulated community pub and cheap alcohol sold for consumption at home.
A large majority (73%) of publicans feel customers’ drinking patterns have changed in recent times – they are coming out less often and drinking less while in a pub. 30% say their customers want more no/low alcohol options. And 37% also say the UK’s drinking culture has got worse since Covid.
The real dividing line, the report argues, is between the on-trade and the off-trade. Yet publicans say they are rarely, if ever, asked what they think. And the trade bodies who claim to speak for them prioritise the interests of their major funders: multinational alcohol producers that make billions from cheap, supermarket sales:
- Just 1% of publicans interviewed belong to the British Beer and Pub Association or UKHospitality, most often consulted in Westminster as “the voice of the trade”.
- Whereas far more, almost a quarter, belong to CAMRA, a consumer campaign group.
As Paul Crossman, Chair of the Campaign for Pubs, has put it:
Westminster politicians take entirely on face value the version of the industry presented to them by the best-resourced and best-placed lobbyists, which are of course those permanently on hand in the corridors of Westminster courtesy of funding provided by the largest players in the industry.
The findings come as Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged new support for pubs, including a 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues. The report points to a wider opportunity: government’s health and economic missions can work hand-in-hand.
Dr Katherine Severi, Chief Executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said:
Alcohol deaths in England reached record levels in the years after the pandemic, and it’s clear that cheap, supermarket alcohol consumed at home is driving much of that harm. The rise of rapid alcohol delivery apps has made things worse, letting people with the heaviest, most dangerous drinking patterns get alcohol to their door within minutes – often when their health is already failing.
What’s striking about this report is that the people running Britain’s pubs agree with the public health community on the fix. They’re not asking for cheaper alcohol – they’re asking for a level playing field. Raising the price of supermarket alcohol, through minimum unit pricing and higher duty, would cut deaths, support struggling pubs, and free up revenue to invest in treatment and prevention.
Government has both a health case and an economic case for acting on cheap alcohol. Now it has publicans’ backing too. There’s no excuse left not to act.
Alcohol harm currently costs England an estimated £27.44 billion every year through pressure on the NHS, crime and disorder, and lost productivity through ill health, sickness and absenteeism.
Evidence shows that shifting alcohol sales away from cheap supermarket purchases and back towards pubs could benefit both the economy and communities.
Economic modelling shows that while a 10% fall in spending in pubs costs the economy £2.68 billion and 72,000 jobs, by contrast a 10% fall in shops and supermarket alcohol spending would add £2.54 billion to the UK and support 43,000 jobs.
However, the report stresses there is no single solution. Business rates relief, licensing reform, or health information measures alone are unlikely to be enough to either save pubs or reduce alcohol harm.
Instead, the report sets out a package of recommendations designed to support pubs, strengthen local communities and reduce alcohol harm. These include tackling the gap between pub and supermarket prices, introducing minimum unit pricing in England, strengthening drink-drive laws, investing in treatment and prevention, and providing further support for pubs facing rising costs.
It also calls on government to work directly with publicans when developing alcohol policy and licensing reform, ensuring the voices of local landlords are heard alongside those of the wider industry.