A potential ban on selling no & low alcoholic drinks to under-18s would have minimal impact on business, according to independent retailers, with most already applying Challenge25 policies to such products.
It comes after the government floated ideas to introduce age restrictions on alcohol-free beers, wines and spirits.
According to The Telegraph, the move is being explored amid concerns that such products could act as a “gateway” to drinking alcohol later in life.
Last week, health minister Ashley Dalton told The Telegraph that non-alcoholic beverages were different to soft drinks “as it is a beverage intentionally crafted to mimic traditional alcoholic drinks like beer, wine or spirits”.
Dalton said there was “some evidence to suggest that exposure to alcohol-like products, even if low or zero alcohol, can normalise drinking, and become a gateway to alcohol consumption”.
While it is illegal to sell alcohol to under-18s, there are currently no specific age restrictions for alcohol-free drinks. However, the “vast majority of convenience retailers already extend their robust Challenge25 policies to zero alcohol alternatives” claimed to the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS).
Retailer Sandeep Bains of Welcome Faversham said he voluntarily restricts the sale of alcohol-free beers, wines and spirits to under 18-years-old.
Under-18s had “never attempted” to purchase 0% booze at his store, Sandeep said, adding that the government should “focus time and money on more pressing issues”.
Likewise, Max Bashir, director at Belle Vue Stores, reported minimal youth demand. “I’ve personally never had a young person come in and try to buy it,” said Max.
“The legislation change would not impact business. I don’t know if it’s just where our stores are in the country, but we don’t sell massive amounts of alcohol-free products.
”Our stores are in quite deprived areas and we don’t have the customer base that want it. We stock a couple of alcohol-free lines and if a customer requests a specific product, we’ll get it in for them. But it’s not really something that sells for us.”
Speaking to Convenience Store, ACS chief executive James Lowman said: ”If there is a mandatory age verification requirement for these products in future, we will help the government in communicating the change but do not anticipate any significant disruption for retailers.”
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