HEALTH professionals have renewed calls for so-called ‘minimum unit’ pricing after uncovering what they said were shocking examples of super strength alcohol being on sale in the North-East for pocket money prices.

The organisation Balance said alcohol products could be bought for as little as 18 pence per unit of alcohol with strong, white cider dominating the cheap end of the market when it came to young people and alcohol-dependent drinkers.

The Northern Echo: AWARENESS EVENT: Director of Balance, Colin Shevills Picture: STUART BOULTON

Colin Shevills, director of Balance. PICTURE: Stuart Boulton

It said three litre bottles of super strength white cider, containing the equivalent of 22 shots of vodka, could be bought for less than £4.

As if to demonstrate this, within a short walking distance of The Northern Echo’s Darlington office, three litres of Frosty Jack’s white cider could be found on sale with 7.5 per cent alcohol by volume for £3.50 at a town centre supermarket.

Balance said vodka was also readily available in the North-East for less than 40p a unit.

Researchers examined 164 products in the North-East, among 500 across the UK. Balance said alcohol was now 60 per cent more affordable than it was in 1980 and was responsible for a growing burden on the NHS.

Figures show alcohol harm costs the region an estimated £911million a year with more than 68,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions, including more than 300 for children with alcohol-specific conditions.

However, Dave Roberts, director general of the Alcohol Information Partnership, said talk of an “epidemic” of alcohol abuse was incorrect and said hospital admissions in the North-East among under 40s and under 18s had actually fallen in the past six years.

Balance’s findings fed into a report by the Alcohol Health Alliance – consisting of medical royal colleges, alcohol organisations and health bodies – which said recent cuts in alcohol taxes had allowed retailers to sell alcohol at rock bottom prices, but done little to help pubs and their customers.

It said since a last pricing survey five years ago the Government had postponed a commitment to a minimum unit price, while an alcohol duty escalator, increasing duty two per cent above inflation, had also been scrapped.

Zoe Davis, a contracts manager with Addaction in Hartlepool, a drug and alcohol charity, said: “The system in this country isn’t working with regards to alcohol related harm. Cheap, available alcohol isn’t the only factor but it’s a contributing one.

“One of the main arguments against minimum unit pricing is that it would punish responsible drinkers. Addaction strongly disagrees with this assumption, as the evidence shows that the cost for an average drinker would be minimal.

“Minimum unit pricing is no ‘magic bullet’ – much more can and should be done besides – but it’s a positive step in the right direction.”

Colin Shevills, director of Balance, said: “We need the Government to increase duty on super strength cider which is much lower than the duty on beer.

“The introduction of a minimum unit price as a targeted, evidence-based measure, would also help to reduce the harms of cheap alcohol.

“We’re urging the Government to take action and begin to turn the tide on alcohol related harm. It’s vital we don’t have another five lost years.”

Professor Peter Kelly , North-East centre director of Public Health England, said: “From a public health perspective the evidence base for minimum unit pricing (MUP) of alcohol is growing.

“Alcohol misuse harms individuals, their families and the community and targeted alcohol pricing is one tool, amongst many others, that may be critical in addressing these devastating harms that impact communities in the North-East.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “The harms associated with excessive alcohol remain too high and current legislation prevents the sale of alcohol below the cost of duty plus VAT.

“Minimum unit pricing will remain under review while we monitor legal developments and the implementation of this policy in Scotland."