Kit Roberts
Labelling on low alcohol and alcohol free drinks should be changed to ensure greater clarity, experts have warned.
Recent years have seen the popularity of low alcohol and alcohol free options booming.
Whereas in the not too distant past the drinks were viewed with anything from a mixture of amusement and bewilderment to outright scorn, nowadays many pubs will have low or no alcohol options available both on tap and in bottles.
Many big brands are also putting a lot more effort into their 'low and no' options, with some such as Guinness tasting remarkably close to the alcoholic version.
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But concerns have been raised around the labelling of these drinks following a study at The University of Plymouth alongside charity Alcohol Change UK, in particular for one group of people.
The issue is based around the important distinction between 'low alcohol' and 'alcohol free' as in the UK these mean different things.
If something is labelled as 'low alcohol' that means it has an alcohol content of up 1.2 percent alcohol by volume.
Obviously this is much less than a beer with a mid alcohol level of, say, 4.1 percent ABV, but it's certainly not a non-alcoholic drink.
This is distinct from an 'alcohol free' beer which in the UK can have no more than 0.05 percent ABV - you might have seen labels on drinks like ginger beers indicating this trace level of alcohol.
Labelling differences between 'low alcohol' and 'alcohol free' is important for pregnant people, with Dr Kate Maslin, senior research fellow in maternal and child health at the University of Plymouth, and project lead, saying that the World Health Organisation 'advises there is no known safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy'.
The growing popularity of no/lo products has led to 'reliance on internet searching and social media for guidance on their use during pregnancy, both of which can contain misinformation or conflicting information'.
The study found that many people who are expecting turned to no and low options as an alternative when socialising, with some 71 percent of 2,000 currently or recently pregnant people surveyed saying they consumed a no/low drink during their pregnancy.
However, a low alcohol option is still consuming alcohol, just in a far lower concentration than a drink which is sold as alcoholic.
Ailar Hashemzadeh is the director of research and public affairs at Alcohol Change UK, and said: “Many people try to avoid alcohol when pregnant and the growing number of alcohol-free and low-alcohol beers, wines and cocktails offers a way to do that while still enjoying what feels like a ‘grown up’ drink.
"What this research has found, however, is that there is a lot of uncertainty and a lot of guesswork going on, particularly with drinks that aren’t completely alcohol-free.
"This sector of the drinks market seems set to keep on growing and expectant parents would really benefit from clear advice from trusted professionals on when and how to use these drinks.”