19/10/2009 - Alcohol consumption on decline
The amount of alcohol being drunk has been declining since 2004, according to pub landlords, who insist anti-alcohol measures need to be focused on troublemakers.
Despite concerns that alcohol-related deaths are on the increase, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said rates of consumption are falling at their fastest for 60 years.
In the first half of the year, the amount of alcohol drunk per person went down to 3.81 litres, a fall of 8%. The amount of alcohol consumed has been falling continually since reaching a peak in 2004.
The fall of 8% is the sharpest drop in alcohol consumption since 1948, when it fell by 11% in a year. It is thought that if amounts continue to decline, people will soon be consuming the same level of alcohol as a decade ago.
BBPA Chief Executive Brigid Simmonds said: "Alcohol consumption is not increasing. It has been on a firm downward trend for several years. When it comes to effective policies to tackle alcohol harm, we need a debate based on the real facts.
"We can now test the academic theories and models, because we now have real life experience of falling total consumption. As doctors keep telling us things are getting worse, these figures cast severe doubt on the claims often made that the best policies for reducing alcohol harm are those that reduce everyone's drinking."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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