Medical expert calls on shops to downsize wine bottles

Published on Thursday 28 February 2008 21:11

SUPERMARKETS should stock half bottles of wine to stop middle aged people drinking too much, a leading doctor has warned.

The drinking culture, particularly among professionals, can be targeted by reducing alcohol portions in the same way consumption of supersize meals is discouraged to combat obesity.

Trish Groves, deputy editor of the British Medical Journal, said the drinks trade should be part of a similar debate to that currently faced by food manufacturers. She said: "I like a glass of good wine with my supper. But, once two of us have had a glass each, it is all too tempting to finish the bottle there and then.

"Coupled with the news that wine is getting stronger, with eight or nine units in a bottle, it is no wonder Britain's middle aged middle classes are getting wasted."

A recent report from Liverpool John Moores University showed wealthy towns top the league table for hazardous drinking in the UK.