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By Staff Writer
Bars and pubs are slashing the price of pints to 99p in a bid to attract cash strapped customers.
The previous agreement under the industry’s Town Watch voluntary code stated that up until now clubs and pubs should not sell alcohol for less than £1.50. This was scrapped at the beginning of February.
The average pint of beer today is around £2.75 although in some areas it can be as high as £3.20. The verdict opposes the Government’s rhetoric by turning back to 1989 law-the last time draft beer was sold for less than a pound in pubs.
JD Wetherspoon runs 713 pubs across the UK including The Moon in the Square which is currently offering bottles of San Miguel and pints of Greene King IPA real ale for 99p.
The decision has sparked outrage among many people. The charity Alcohol Concern believes the move will see an increase in binge drinking and drink-related violence. Nicolay Sorensen, from the charity said:
“The number of alcohol-related hospital admissions is continuing to rise at an astonishing rate. Drink-related illnesses cost the NHS £2.7bn per year."
But, spokesman for JD Wetherspoon Eddie Gershon claimed the firm was only trying to help people in the present economic slump. The ales offered for 99p mostly appealed to the older generation who do not binge drink. He said:
“Wetherspoons is a very responsible pub. Also the way the economy is at the moment it’s not as if many people can choose to drink to excess.”
Fellow members of Town Watch, Yates Wine Lodge and Sixty Million Postcards confirmed they had no intention to follow Wetherspoons plan.
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