Health expert wants smaller bottles to stop binge-drinking February 29, 2008
Jo Iivonen
Wine-loving Britons are being pushed into binge-drinking because of large bottles, says an influential health publication.
Dr Trish Groves, editor of the British Medical Journal, wrote in this week's issue that the standard 75cl bottle could be responsible for making Britain's middle classes 'wasted.'
'I like a glass of good wine with my supper,' said Groves. 'But, once two of us have had a glass each, it's all too tempting to finish the bottle there and then to avoid waste. Coupled with the news that wine is getting stronger, it's no wonder Britain's middle aged middle classes are getting wasted'
Supermarkets should start offering smaller bottles because sharing a 75cl bottle between two people exceeds the government's recommended limits, she added.
decanter.com has also learned that a new range of small wine bottles will be launched by Waitrose next week.
The fortuitously-timed Vin a Deux range of eight 50cl wines will arrive on store shelves on Monday and more wines may follow.
'It is something we are looking into,' said Waitrose spokeswoman Nathalie Heath.
The products are priced between £3.99 and £6.99 – well above the average £4 price for a standard 75cl bottle.
Leading supermarket Tesco said last week that it wants to see a government-led effort to increase alcohol prices in the UK.
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This is really a silly idea. Why can't Brittan behave like the rest of Europe? It isn't a problem there! This nonsense has to stop. It's al about self-control. This isn't like America where people can sue McDonalds for something they are themselves responsible for. If people won't take responsibility, then I certainly would want to be punished for it. Let them pay more for the healthcare they need.
Petra
This is complete and utter tosh. The rest of Europe manages extremely well with 75cl bottles. Two people sharing such a bottle over a meal could only be considered to be binge-drinking by an ignorant moron. Government recommendations on 'safe' levels of drinking are known to be a fabrication based on, well, no evidence whatsoever. Britain, get a grip. And take some nuts with it.
Keith Williamson, Madrid, Spain
That caused the shock of recognition. I'm certainly one of those middle-aged drinkers who not only tends to finish a bottle to avoid waste, but finds the trend toward ever-stronger wines inimical both to my health and to my enjoyment. It really should not be beyond the skill of modern viticulture to achieve phenolic ripeness without having to make wines of 14% alcohol and more.
Perhaps it's a touch of cynicism, but I have to think that competitive food-free tastings, points scores, the American-influenced preference that bigger is better, the slight additional sweetness that comes from the extra alcohol and, most importantly, the astronomical prices that can be achieved by so-called "icon" wines have at least as much influence on the taste for super-strong wine as the need to achieve phenolic ripeness in a high quality vineyard.
I like to drink the stuff, usually a couple of glasses with my dinner and then a couple more relaxing or working late in my studio. I can't drink the stuff with enjoyment if I can't focus my eyes anymore. Some of my favourite wines are 8% German Rieslings or 12.5% Bordeaux. Even an Australian Shiraz doesn't have to be over 13% to be balanced and good (Gramp's McLaren Vale Shiraz 1998 is an example).
A half-bottle is not often enough for two, at least not in my house. However, if bottles of 500ml or 600ml were available, I would certainly buy them - but I'd still rather drink more of a less alcoholic wine.
David Matzdorf, London, England
Dr Trish Groves seems to be admitting that she is someone with absolutely no self control and, as seems typical with a large percentage of the population, she considers this not to be her problem but a problem which should foisted upon the rest of society.
When will people start to speak the truth about "binge" drinking; it is not the price of the alcohol, it is not the size of the bottle, it is not 24 hour opening, or any number of other reasons; it just a lack of self control. Changing any of the parameters of bottle sizes, pricing, alcoholic strength, opening hours etc will make not one iota of difference to the problem.
The problem will remain for as long we allow anti-social behaviour to go without the right level of punishment; proper correction needs to start from the earliest possible age.
Peter Bowyer, Swindon, UK
Dr Trish Groves says she has difficulty in refraining from the rest of the bottle after ' a glass each'-[ lets assume a generous 175ml measure], - she then often drinks the remaining 400ml 'to avoid waste', i.e. 375ml total consumption. Waitrose's smaller 500ml bottle however will surely encourage these uncontrolled middle-aged binge drinkers to down a wacking 250ml each in the first glass, which does not address the root of the problem at all: a good wine preservation system, or some self restraint perhaps!
Martin Lam
It is far more likely that we will see an increase in the number of 375 and 500 ml bottles from an effort by producers to meet worldwide wine demand, than we will for health benefit reasons. The researcher in the article clearly has no idea of what drives the market, and rather than look at the more likely reasons for an increase in binge drinking, she is looking for the government to intervene through legislation. The only winners of such an intervention will be the producers and distributers who will be able to increase their profits through smaller bottle sizes. Not the consumer. To think that the primary reason consumers finish a bottle of wine is to avoid wastage demonstrates how little science is behind her comments. A simpler solution if this were indeed the case, would be to educate consumers so that they might note the evolution in taste and bouquet of a bottle that is opened over several days, or to promote the use of stoppers such as vacu-vin on open bottles. She should give her head a shake, and if she is truly interested in dealing with over consumption then she should scientifically investigate the causes. Perhaps the government's continued emphasis on the "evils of alcohol" rather than the promotion
of wine as a beverage to accompany a meal is more the cause. An assumption that consumers like to take risks with "controlled substances" would be equally as valid (and inaccurate) as her reasoning.
Bill Turner, Mission, BC, Canada
This seems absolutely ridiculous for many reasons. First of all, there are many ways of keeping wine once it is opened. Even for the finest wines, a quick pouring after opening into a 375ml bottle and recorking is a technique I have used for many years now and the wines keep beautifully in the cellar to the next day and beyond. Now half a bottle for two people over one evening is a very moderate wine consumption habit...
Also, an eventual change in bottle sizes will yet again be a very good reason for a hike in prices... Get 500ml for the price if 750ml, for instance! And nothing would prevent drinkers from opening a second (smaller) bottle after having a couple of glasses... the "binge drinking" being even more substantial then!
Olivier Collin, Montréal, Canada
This may sound like sensible, sober advice from a respected medical professional; but is Dr Groves seriously making a comparison between binge-drinking and consumption by a couple of a bottle of wine? If so we are in real trouble, wine trade and consumer alike.
The apparent hazard involved in sharing a bottle of wine was flagged up last month when the Government recognised that because of higher alcohol a 75cl bottle contains 9 alcoholic units on average, up from 6 previously. This puts a bottle into the risk zone when consumed by two men, let alone two women for whom the unit guidelines are lower. I personally find this concept hard to swallow, especially as the recommended limits were apparently plucked from the air in the first place. Oh, and by the way, much of the rest of the world would fine this whole approach very nanny-state-ish, many countries not yet adopting any measure of safe drinking limits.
[Dr Groves could herself be confused over the matter of units by the way: she is quoted by the BBC as defining the safe daily limit for men as a third of a bottle, two small wine glasses equating to three units, whereas according to the Government itself the recommended daily limit for men is 4 units - though subject to a weekly aggregate of 21 units. The equivalent figures for women are 3 and 14 units.]
But the alleged link with binge-drinking is fanciful at best, mendacious at worst, and needs to be challenged. A definition for binge drinking is proving hard to pin down in terms of units but I know of no measure that equates to half a bottle of wine. The Office for National Statistics uses a measure of 8 units for men and 6 for women to define heavy drinking, twice the recommended daily limit, and Alcohol Concern amongst others has adopted this yardstick for binge-drinking too.
We must challenge these sorts of unsound statements and quickly. Otherwise we may soon find the enjoyment in a bottle of wine substantially diminished.
Hugo Rose MW, Wine Consultant, Colchester, UK
So let me get this straight – according to Dr. Groves, wine binge-drinking could be down to the size of the receptacle in which it is sold? It wouldn't have anything to do with her lack of willpower then…
How tempted would Dr. Groves be to open a second 37.5cl or even worse a second 50cl bottle after finishing the first? If size matters, as my wife informs me it does, when will environmentally friendly one litre tetra paks and two, three and five litre bag-in-boxes be banned?
Here's a top tip to avoid waste - try putting the closure back in/on the bottle and finishing it the following evening if you really believe that consuming a bottle of wine between two people with a meal is binge-drinking.
Could I humbly suggest taking responsibility for your actions and stop blaming bottle size/rising alcohol levels/supermarket promotions and availability for your lack of resolve when faced with second glass syndrome.
Matt McCulloch
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This is really a silly idea. Why can't Brittan behave like the rest of Europe? It isn't a problem there! This nonsense has to stop. It's al about self-control. This isn't like America where people can sue McDonalds for something they are themselves responsible for. If people won't take responsibility, then I certainly would want to be punished for it. Let them pay more for the healthcare they need.
