Asda criticised for selling 50p lager

Asda has come under fire for selling bottles of Budweiser lager for less than 50p each, despite recently pledging to promote drinking alcohol responsibly.

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The supermarket is currently offering a deal on 24 300ml bottles of the lager for £11 – reduced from £15.98.

Asda partnered with drinks maker Diageo in August to launch a responsible drinking campaign, giving away 20,000 unit measuring cups to help consumers keep track of how much alcohol they were drinking at home.

It has also signed up to the Government’s responsibility deal to promote healthy lifestyles.

Professor Ian Gilmore, liver specialist at the Royal College of Physicians, told the Metro newspaper: “Again this is another example of a retailer on the one hand pledging to act responsibly while at the same time offering ridiculously cheap offers when buying in bulk.”

Last year Asda pledged it would not sell beer for below the cost of tax duty plus VAT after it was criticised for its discount deals. The supermarket also came under fire earlier this year for “glamorising” the alcoholic strength of one of its own-label ciders.

Asda did acknowledge the fall out of the specific Budweiser deal but says in a statement: “We’re as committed to our role as a responsible alcohol retailer as we are to providing affordable deals for our customers.”

The UK’s major supermarkets are currently in the midst of a price war in a bid to attract cash-strapped consumers into their stores.

Today (17 October) Asda is advertising in the press a money-back guarantee if its grocery shopping is found not to be 10% cheaper than Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, plus £5 off consumers’ next £40 shop.

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