The UK’s official statistics office today said it added alcohol-free beer to the list of goods it uses to monitor inflation to “represent an uncovered area of the alcohol market”.
It unclear how a product containing no alcohol represents ones containing alcohol. Nobody knows the extent to which alcohol-free beer replaces alcoholic products. Its price is also not subject to alcohol tax or minimum pricing.
“There is currently no clear evidence for no-lo drinks taking the place of alcohol products to any significant degree,” a group of experts wrote in January.
AR Hype around the evidence-free idea that alcohol-free beer is reducing alcohol harm is arguably distacting attention from policies which are known to work. ■