Homeless charity anger at Portman decision

Three super-strength beer brands were cleared of any breach of the Portman Group’s code of practice, a decision that has been criticised by homeless charity Thames Reach.

The drinks industry body did, however, find Kestrel Super to be in violation of the code, owing to aspects of its marketing.

Thames Reach, who brought the complaint about the 9% ABV beers to the Portman Group, argued that Government alcohol recommendations suggest that men not exceed three to four units a day, with a maximum of three for women, while each of these 500ml cans contain four and a half units.

The Portman Group decided that Skol Super, Carlsberg Special Brew and Tennent’s Super “did not encourage irresponsible drinking”. The Independent Complaints Panel for the Portman Group concluded that Government limits for alcohol consumption are “guidelines rather than strict limits”. It further commented on the difficulty in distinguishing between these strong lagers and cider or wine “which also contain a high number of units and are not easily re-sealable.”

Thames Reach chief executive, Jeremy Swain reacted strongly, saying: “The panel’s conclusions that drinking a can of lager is comparable to consuming a bottle of wine in that neither vessel is meant to be re-sealable flies in the face of common sense. The public are well aware that a bottle of wine can be re-corked and saved, a can of lager is always consumed in one bout of drinking.”

Chief executive for The Portman Group, David Poley, explained that “restricting container size would be inappropriate and liable to lead to inconsistencies,” adding that “the phrasing of the Government’s sensible drinking advice raises questions over the rationality of treating four units as a strict threshold.”

Poley went on to explain the panel’s decision about Kestrel Super’s breach of the code, saying that “its strength is a dominant theme of its marketing. The packaging alludes to the drink’s strength in several places and this impression is reinforced by the prominent image of the kestrel.” He added that Kestrel’s owner, Wells & Young’s, had agreed to amend its packaging.

Swain, clearly dissatisfied with the decision, commented: “These decisions completely discredit the Portman Group’s Complaints Panel. There we were thinking that the reason alcoholics drank super-strength lager in horrifying quantities was because they were marketed as ‘super-strength’ and at a size that ensures that the drinker can become inebriated after just two or three cans. Instead the panel have decided that consumer behaviour is, in fact, affected by the ‘stern image of a kestrel’.”

Tennents brand owner, InBev, has agreed to reduce the size of the can for its “super” variant to 440ml, to lower the number of units in each can. Thames Reach’s Swain commented: “In an ideal world we would like to see this harmful product banned. But InBev UK has to be applauded by putting people before profit, by taking the lead and reducing the can size. I would urge Carlsberg, so far depressingly impervious to our campaign, to respond to this brave step by reducing the can size of Special Brew and Skol Super at the earliest opportunity.”

Thames Reach has also recently approached The Treasury in an attempt to raise taxes on super-strength beers and ciders, a suggestion that has been rejected.

Clinton Cawood 09/07/08