Friday, October 11, 2024
Home Addiction News Shrinking the pint reduces beer sales by almost 10%, study shows

Shrinking the pint reduces beer sales by almost 10%, study shows

by Medical Xpress
0 comment


Reducing alcohol consumption is a global public health priority. Researchers examined the effect of reducing the largest serving size of draught beer in England, usually the pint, on overall alcohol (beer and wine) consumption. In the studied drinking establishments, reducing the largest serving size from the pint, 568 mL, to a two-third pint, 379 mL, the daily volume of beer sold reduced by 9.7%. Although the total volume of wine sold saw a corresponding increase of 7.2% (from 4,707 mL to 4,822 mL), overall alcohol consumption was still reduced, indicating the potential benefit of this strategy. Credit: Anne-Lise Paris, (www.in-graphidi.com), PLOS, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

Reducing the serving size for beer, lager and cider reduces the volume of those drinks consumed in pubs, bars and restaurants, and could be a useful alcohol control measure, according to research published September 17 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine.

Theresa Marteau and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, UK, found that over a short intervention period, venues that removed the pint and offered two-third pints instead, sold 10% less beer by volume compared with when pints were available.

When wine by the glass is offered in smaller servings, the amount sold decreases, but similar studies have not investigated the effect on other alcoholic drinks. Marteau and colleagues approached venues in England and asked them to remove the pint serving size and instead offer two thirds as the largest option for four weeks, with four-week non-intervention periods before and after as a comparison.

The team found that removing the pint reduced the daily mean volume of beer, lager and cider sold by 9.7%, although there was a slight increase in the amount of wine purchased, with one pub contributing to half of the increase in wine sales. They report that although customers did not complain, fewer than 1% of venues approached agreed to participate and the intervention involved only 12 establishments.

Further assessment is needed, particularly into whether people fully compensated for reduced beer consumption by drinking other alcoholic drinks, but the intervention merits consideration for inclusion in alcohol control policies. Smaller serving sizes could contribute towards reducing alcohol consumption across populations and thereby decrease the risk of seven cancers and other diseases.

The authors add, “Removing the offer of pints in 13 licensed premises for four weeks reduced the volume of beer sold. This is in keeping with the emerging literature showing that smaller serving sizes help us drink less and presents a novel way of reducing alcohol consumption and improving population health.”

More information:
Mantzari E, et al. Impact on beer sales of removing the pint serving size: An A-B-A reversal trial in pubs, bars, and restaurants in England. PLoS Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004442

Citation:
Shrinking the pint reduces beer sales by almost 10%, study shows (2024, September 17)
retrieved 17 September 2024
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-pint-beer-sales.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.





Source link

You may also like

Leave a Comment

Edtior's Picks

Latest Articles

All Rights reserved, site designed by Yellohost.co.za