As Alcohol
consumption falls: Need for a more nuanced understanding. –What does this mean
for the Pub?
Recently I wrote that that I felt no matter how influential
the public health community became it would always be a secondary consideration
for policy makers because of the centrality of alcohol in the UK. There are now some seismic shifts taking
place that suggest this may in time be no longer the case. The impetus for these changes is largely
economic and I suspect the recent public health debate around alcohol is in
reality something of a side show. In
retrospect historians may conclude that behaving as they did in the 1990s and
early 2000s by promoting cheap alcohol alongside a message that alcohol equated
to fun that different facets of the alcohol industry had begun to kill the
goose that laid the golden egg. Policy
makers slowly began to perceive that certain aspects of the alcohol culture had
become problematic and had to be addressed.
Readers who are familiar with my writings will know that I come
from a perspective that public health considerations have to be regarded as
equally important as commercial ones. I
make no apologies for this as I feel that the much demonised public sector have
been left to mop up the excesses of UK alcohol culture, mainly in the form of
the police and medical professions.
The need to reduce the level of alcohol related harm will remain
paramount for at least another 20 years but thereafter I suspect the situation
may change because slowly alcohol may take a less prominent role in many
people’s lives. I am beginning to
question the need for minimum unit pricing as I think there is little doubt
that consumption is falling overall.
However I think it is important to understand that this not a uniform
across all age groups
I will largely
confine my comments to the 18-65 age group, though even the most cursory of
glances will confirm that much of the spending that drives the UK economy is
driven by wealthy pensioners. Much of
this spending is by virtue of generous public
and private sector pension schemes and the historical accident of being
able to make obscene profits merely by buying and living in property. These opportunities will be denied to future
generations.
Alcohol consumption for those 40-50 is largely stable. There are people in this age group who have
reduced their drinking but equally this is the group that seem to be most
resistant to public health messages.
Many have lived through years of plenty and see little reason to change
their behaviour. They have also been the group who have lived through a time
when the alcohol industry was able to provide an unequivocal message that
alcohol was intrinsic to having fun. It
is not very scientific but my recent experience of a night out may be illustrative. My wife and I went out to a local restaurant;
the majority of people there had more than a little grey hair. The amount of alcohol being consumed by both
genders was very noticeable. Initially I
ordered a bottle of wine and the waitress only bought one glass (for my
wife). Clearly this was something the
waitress was used to doing and in fairness there was no embarrassment when I
asked for another glass. However it is
indicative of the predominant culture at the restaurant and I saw no reason to
think this was exceptional. I suspect
that some had been drinking before going out but that is for another day. In short this is a group that will continue
to sustain the current pub/restaurant model probably for another decade as they
have disposable income and are part of a culture where excessive alcohol
consumption is the norm. However I feel
it would be dangerous for pubs and restaurants to believe that younger
generations will behave in the same way.
I am aware that some of these comments are generalisations
and there will be exceptions that prove the rule but they contain more than an
element of truth. There is now a group
of adults 30-40 who probably would have been inculcated with the message
“alcohol is fun” and I expect would like to behave in the way described in the
previous paragraph. However this is the
group who are truly facing the consequences of the money for UK PLC having run
out. Many are on low wages, short-term
contracts, high rents and unlike previous generations unable to join the great
property owning democracy. Also there
appears to be a marked reluctance to make provision for the future. I may be wrong but I suspect in time one of
the areas of their lives that will become of less importance, because it will
be regarded as unaffordable, will be regular trips to the pub or restaurant.
The 18-30 age group present an even greater challenge for
publicans and restaurateurs. Despite
what some of media would have us believe alcohol consumption in this group has
been on a significant downward trend for a number of years. Some writers have dubbed this group “The New
Puritans.” This is a bit misleading as
they have not stopped drinking but often regard alcohol as less central to a
night out than previous generations.
There may be many reasons for this, the distractions are greater- most
notably the internet and social networks, money is tight, possibly the
behaviours they have witnessed on the part of their elders they now regard as
embarrassing rather than fun.
There is another possibility, -that what is offered by the
pub and restaurant may alienate some of this group. Research now suggests that one of the reasons
driving pre-loading is that pubs and restaurants do not provide an atmosphere
interviewees regard as conducive to socialising. It is also noteworthy that whilst pubs have
become less appealing to this group drinking coffee and expensive afternoon
teas have become increasingly popular.
I am now in mid fifties and I despair at the amount of pubs that have
now been converted to gastropubs. I
want a pub to be somewhere I can have a drink without feeling at least a subtle
pressure to eat a full priced meal. This
appears to be the dominant commercial model and I suspect there may be an
important demographic who are alienated by these developments and importantly
they have not been habitual pub users for over 30 years.
I make no apologies for wishing to see alcohol consumption
on a downward trend but I think the amount of drinking taking place at home
needs to be addressed. My focus would be
on reducing discount offers, and alcohol advertising and promotions but I would
like to see the pub thrive. It strikes
me that there is an over-reliance on generations 40+ to sustain the current
pub/restaurant model and this is short-termism.
To be brutal, the money will run out and in time this group will die
out. One possible reaction is to regard
the current behaviour of young people as a statistical blip and they will in
time return to the “alcohol is fun” fold.
They may, but this is a high-risk strategy and I am sure the alcohol
industry does not need me to remind them of the importance of hooking them when
young. If this behaviour is maintained
it is likely to be long term and possibly cross-generational.
Thus far much research has focused upon cost as a prime
driver of diminishing alcohol consumption.
It is clearly important and I would like to see measures that reduced
the price gap between pubs and supermarkets but I also feel it is important for
pubs and restaurants to consider that they may now offer a service some young
people no longer want and possibly now find alienating. I suspect if the fall in alcohol consumption
in young people continues and is reflected in life-long behaviour then
arguments concerning minimum unit pricing will be seen as diverting but of
largely symbolic importance compared to wider cultural and economic changes.
PS: On completion of
this blog BBC news announced that it was highly likely that the proposals to
introduce minimum unit pricing were likely to be withdrawn. As I have said above I am less convinced of
the need for minimum pricing but what I am now convinced of is the importance
of minimising the impact of Big Alcohol on public health policy. No doubt there is some smug triumphalism
taking place in bodies such as the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, to which
I say be careful what you wish for-public image is paramount. This is not the result of a strategic
withdrawal but craven capitulation driven by party political manoeuvring and
hypocrisy. Furthermore those sincere
protestations from parts of the alcohol industry that do put a high emphasis on
behaving responsibly will now have a hollow ring as “Big Alcohol” has been
flushed out and shown to be morally bankrupt if it was ever in doubt. Just one final thought- is “Big Alcohol”
really interested in continuing the British pub model if it can sell the
product elsewhere?
Dr John Foster is Principal Research Fellow at the
University of Greenwich-School of Health and Social Care.