“Pubs are guilty of encouraging drunkenness”

Pubs, bars and nightclubs are “actively encouraging drunkenness”, says a new Government report into binge drinking. It condemns licensees for promoting cut-price offers and serving people that are “already drunk”.

The withering report, first revealed in Marketing Week (MW May 7) also questions the role pub, bars and nightclub in binge drinking and why they continue to serve people who are either drunk or underage.

The Home Office commissioned consultants KPMG to write the report, A Review of the Social Responsibility Standards for the Production and Sale of Alcoholic Drinks, in February. It was due to be published in May but it is understood to have been delayed because it raises the question whether deregulation has fuelled underage and binge drinking (MW June 04)

A team of researchers visited nearly 600 pubs, bars, nightclubs, off-licences and supermarkets in England over a five-day period. The locations visited included Coventry, Hackney, Harrogate, Manchester, and Swindon.

The report also adds that most supermarkets are complying more fully with the industry standards, by displaying signs encouraging sensible drinking.