• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Institute of Alcohol Studies HomepageInstitute of Alcohol Studies

Bringing together evidence, policy and practice to reduce alcohol harm

  • Home
  • About us
    • People
    • Our strategy
    • Small Grants Scheme
    • Networks
    • Vacancies
    • Contact us
  • Publications
  • Explore by Topic
    • Alcohol across society
    • Availability
    • Consumption
    • Economy
    • Health
    • Marketing
    • Price
    • The alcohol industry
    • Transport
    • Violence and crime
    • Help and support
  • News & Comment
    • Latest news and events
    • Blog
    • Alcohol Alert
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • See all
  • Search
News

Fall in Alcohol Sales

14th August 2009

Fall in Alcohol Sales

Figures released by HMRC show a fall in the volume of alcohol sold in the UK in the financial year 2008/09.

Reduced consumption was seen in all classes of alcoholic
drink apart from cider, which showed a 1% increase, following much
larger increases in recent years. Sales of wine fell by 9%, reversing a
9% increase the previous year. The long-term trend for wine sales has
been a steady increase, though with large year-on-year fluctations more
recently.

Sales of spirits fell by 6%, following relatively stable
levels of consumption since 2003. Since consumption increased
dramatically in that year, the volume sold in 2008/09 remains higher
than in was in any year from 1986/07 (the earliest figures reported by
HMRC) to 2001/02. The volume of beer sold also fell by 6%, continuing a
downward trend since 2003, having been relatively stable for the two
decades before that.

These figures are for total sales in the UK. The latest
figures hgave not yet been calculated in terms of litres of pure alcohol
per adult, which gives the best indication of alcohol consumption.

More news items
Alcohol blamed for rise in oral cancer rates
The BMA calls for a comprehensive alcohol control strategy

Footer

IAS is proud to be a member of

  • Twitter
  • Bluesky
  • Spotify
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Contact us

©2025 Institute of Alcohol Studies

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok