News Beat
Andy Mee of Alcohol Free Drinks Company hits out over review
Ministers have said they are looking at making it illegal to sell such products to under 18s, believing they act as a ‘gateway’ to drinking full-strength products.
At present, companies such as the Tockwith-based Alcohol Free Drinks Company can sell beers, wines, spirits and similar drinks to under 18s if they have less than 0.05 per cent alcohol, as they are classed as ‘alcohol-free’.
But last week the government announced a review of such sales of low or no-alcohol drinks to under 18s.
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Ashley Dalton, a health minister, said that non-alcoholic products were different to soft drinks “as it is a beverage intentionally crafted to mimic traditional alcoholic drinks like beer, wine, or spirits”.
She also told the Daily Telegraph: “This is a newly emerging area, but there is some evidence to suggest that exposure to alcohol-like products, even if low or zero alcohol, can normalise drinking, and become a gateway to alcohol consumption.
“Earlier alcohol use initiation is linked to a higher risk of harmful drinking patterns later in life.”
However, Andy Mee, who founded the Alcohol Free Drinks Company, says Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) are “not going to drink too much alcohol anyway”.
Andy’s four-year-old business offers a range of non-alcoholic or low-alcoholic beers, ciders, wines, spirits, cocktails and RTDs.
He told The Press: “To say these could be a bridge to drinking alcohol is absolute rubbish! What they show is Gen Z can have an adult taste without the poisonous, carcinogenic product that is alcohol.
“They know that alcohol is a harmful substance. That is why they are not drinking alcohol like we used to.”
Two student union bars recently went alcohol-free in Leeds and Bradford, he says, to be more inclusive.
Andy continued: “Gen Z go out to socialise, not to get drunk. It’s the social aspect. That is why we have to protect our pubs. Government must do something to protect pubs. The more that goes online, meeting people in person becomes more important.”
The 63-year-old recalls Britian becoming “a nation of binge drinkers” caused by pubs having set opening and closing hours and a rush to the bar for last orders.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a ‘lad culture’, which was condoned and “seen as cool”.
There was also ‘sober shaming’ where non-drinkers would be told “go on, you can have one” and made to feel embarrassed for not drinking.
By contrast, on the continent, children would be allowed to have a little alcohol even when young, which taught them to take it in moderation.
Andy added: “This has to change. We have to stop sober-shaming. If you want to have a drink of a gin or a wine, with or without alcohol, what has that to do with anyone else? We are out to socialise.”
However, Wayne Smith, managing director of Brew York, which makes four such beers, told The Press: “We’re very family friendly and take our responsibility of selling alcohol very seriously.
“Our stance is that non-alcoholic beers still contain alcohol (albeit 0.5%) and still represent a beer in terms of presentation, flavour and branding.
“It has been brewed to mimic a ’normal’ strength beer, and therefore it is served as a beer alternative to people aged 18 and over.
“This is based on our values as a company and what we believe is good practice.”
