The ‘pre-packaged’ alcohol problem plaguing central cities

A spate of violence and sexual assaults in Wellington has sparked a police investigation into drinking behaviour, with much of the blame placed on people “pre-drinking” cheap booze before heading into town.

The study said education programmes were not working and recommended raising alcohol prices, raising the legal purchasing age from 18 to 20 and placing restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship.

A few weeks ago, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told RNZ that shortening bottle shop opening hours and raising alcohol prices was a “big step” for the government. Should New Zealand discuss harm reduction?.

Police, along with Wellington City Council and the New Zealand Ministry of Health, are investigating drinking behaviour in Courtenay Square amid concerns about safety in Wellington’s central city.

For the study, the Centre for Evidence-Based Policing breath-tested and interviewed nearly 2,300 people between 8:30pm and 4am, recording levels as high as 1,524 micrograms per litre, about six times the legal driving limit.

The survey showed that 65 per cent of drinkers at Courtenay Place started drinking in the early evening, but by midnight 77 per cent were also drinking.

The average breath alcohol level of those before drinking was 428 micrograms per litre (about 1.7 times the legal driving limit), which was an average of 96 micrograms per litre higher than that of those who had not drunk alcohol before going out.

The biggest motivation for pre-installing — a reason given by 44% of respondents — is to save money.

“Price is a key factor in pre-purchasing alcohol, highlighting the importance of alcohol pricing policies that effectively achieve high affordability for off-price alcohol products,” the study noted.

This is further exacerbated by the growing market share held by supermarkets and bottle shops: in 2007, 68% of alcohol was purchased from bottle shops, but research shows that figure is now 80%.

For early drinkers, their favorite alcohol type is ready-to-drink beverages (40%), followed by spirits (25%), beer (25%) and wine (20%), and many people drink more than one type of alcohol.

The study found that drinkers who bought their drinks in supermarkets had breathalyser readings that were on average 57 micrograms per litre higher than those who did not buy their drinks.

“This may be related to the fact that alcohol prices in New Zealand supermarkets are lower than those in specialty liquor stores, especially when there are promotions,” the report said.

The price difference between off-site and online licenses has been widening.

In 2013, a 400ml beer in a pub was 2.7 times more expensive than in a supermarket or bottle shop, and by 2023 this ratio will rise to 3.4 times.

But the difference can sometimes be much greater, with $22 buying a dozen 330ml bottles of beer at a liquor store and two bottles at a downtown bar, the study shows.

The study recommends considering increasing consumption taxes and Minimum unit pricing (MUP).

The minimum price system in place in Ireland, Scotland and Wales sets a minimum price for alcohol sales and has a big impact on takeaway alcohol prices because alcohol sold in pubs is more expensive.

“Minimum unit pricing, which targets the cheapest alcohol by setting a minimum selling price for a standard drink, can also help reduce price gaps between licence types,” the study noted.

It also recommends raising the legal purchasing age from 18 to 20 and “implementing comprehensive legislative restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship” to reduce alcohol-related harm.

“Educational and persuasive approaches have been shown to be ineffective. Mass media campaigns about drinking have been shown to improve recall but have little effect on alcohol consumption,” the report said.

The report said that while anti-smoking campaigns have been effective, alcohol is different because of the “pervasiveness and influence of alcohol marketing and cultural norms in society that support alcohol.” In contrast, tobacco advertising is banned and social norms oppose it.

The government has been reluctant to increase alcohol prices.

An independent review of alcohol taxes, which fund public health measures to reduce alcohol harm, has recommended raising the levy by $37 million, which would add just half a cent to the price of a can of beer.

But in June this year, the government Choose to only charge $16 millionThis is despite being told that alcohol currently causes more than $9 billion in social harm in New Zealand, a cost more than 20 times that of methamphetamine.

Police research shows that in half of all physical and sexual assaults in New Zealand, the perpetrator has been drinking, and alcohol-related assaults are more likely to involve strangers and take place in public places.

Research shows that pre-offenders are more likely to become both victims and perpetrators of crime.

The report cites previous research in central Wellington that showed alcohol harm increases as the night progresses, accelerating after 1am and peaking between 3am and 4am.

The study also cited a survey which showed 73 per cent of women “felt unsafe in Wellington city after dark, with most unwilling to walk alone at night”.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell told RNZ the focus of the study was consistent with what police had told him.

“It’s a big problem for them. Because obviously, they have to deal with all the crime and violence that’s related to alcohol,” he said.

“When you look at what’s going on and the alcohol-related harms we still have to deal with, you can see we’re not getting it right as a society.”

Mr Mitchell said the government’s responsibility for any new measures to reduce alcohol harm lay with other ministers and had to be balanced with individual freedoms.

“We definitely don’t want to be a nanny state,” he said. “So as a government we have to keep looking at options and recommendations to continue to reduce alcohol harm.”