3 April 2006
Taste of RTD products and drinking patterns
The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre has released a study which claims that Ready to Drink (RTD) beverages are more palatable to young people and recommends that great caution should be exercised when using milk in RTD products.
Mr Gordon Broderick, Executive Director of the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia (DSICA) says that many of the reports surrounding this study have confused the issue of taste perceptions and underage drinking patterns.
Mr Broderick said that “it is difficult to draw any conclusions from the study because it measures taste perceptions and not drinking patterns of young people”. Mr Broderick further commented that, “there is no proven link between motivations for underage drinking and the taste of a beverage. Parental role models and peer groups are likely to be far greater influences on underage drinking compared with the taste or colour of an alcoholic beverage”.
“Despite the popular perception that underage drinking is on the rise, the best available government data points the other way. DSICA has examined the official government releases on alcohol consumption to draw together underage drinking patterns. The evidence shows that levels of underage drinking have stabilised or have declined”, said Mr Broderick.
A range of indicators show broadly that:
- Prevelance – the proportion of underage drinkers is not increasing;
- Quantity – the amount of alcohol consumers by underage drinkers is not increasing;
- Drinking Patterns – there has been a decrease in underage males drinkers drinking at higher risk levels (and no significant increase for females drinking at higher risk levels).
(See “Indicators of Alcohol Consumption Amongst Young People” and “No link between RTD growth and underage drinking” at http://www.dsica.com.au/sections/new/index.html)
Mr Broderick added that “it is a popular misconception that RTD beverages have a high alcohol content because they contain spirits. This is a myth. The alcohol content of RTDs is in fact the same as beer at around 5% alcohol by volume”.
Mr Broderick concludes that the real issue is not whether a particular beverage has a certain ingredient or colour but how that beverage is marketed and its availability. On the first point DSICA members adhere rigorously to the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) which prevents advertisements of alcohol beverages to encourage underage drinking. Secondly, alcohol as a category is one of the most highly regulated products on the market, which has strict controls on its availability.
Media enquiries: Peter Phillips, Policy Manager on (03) 9696 4466
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