Charity blasts ruling on super-strength lagers
Homeless charity Thames Reach has claimed the Portman Group's Independent Complaints Panel has been "completely discredited" after its decision to reject its complaint about super-strength lagers.
The panel found that three super-strength lagers - Carlsberg Special Brew, Tennent's Super and Super Skol - did not breach its code on packaging and promotion.
However Wells and Young's Kestrel Super was found to be in breach by the panel because its strength was the "dominant theme of its marketing" and the image of a kestrel reinforced its strength.
Thames Reach argued that producing superstrength lager in 500ml cans encouraged immoderate consumption, binge drinking and drunkenness.
Following the Portman Group's rejection of its complaint Jeremy Swain, chief executive of Thames Reach, said: "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'.
"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."
Thames Reach's own figures show that around 800 of the 4,000 homeless people it helps each year in London are addicted to super-strength lagers.
Swain also hit out at the government for not taxing super-strength drinks more heavily.
He added: "It would be extremely helpful if the government could make up its mind on this crucial issue.
"We are convinced that increasing the price of strong lagers and decreasing the price of weaker lagers will lead to people moving off of the super-strengths and that lives will be saved."
