Government plans to introduce a sugar tax has potentially large ramifications for the alcohol industry in Ireland and may give consumers something extra to think about when it comes to purchasing alcohol in the future, according to recent research from Empathy Research.
The research, which was conducted amongst a nationally representative sample of 933 alcohol consumers aged 18+, highlighted that sugar content in alcohol is on the radar for a sizeable proportion of the population, with just over 1 in 5 (21%) adults who drink alcohol, claiming they are concerned about the amount of sugar contained in the alcohol they consume.
Further to this overall level of concern, there are 4 in 10 (40%) alcohol drinkers who believe that there is too much sugar in alcohol nowadays. This mindfulness when it comes to sugar intake across the population already appears to have manifested itself in the actions of some, with almost 1 in 5 (17%) adults claiming they have reduced how much alcohol they drink due to the amount of sugar it may contain, rising to 1 in 5 (20%) for females.
Further to this reduction in the amount of alcohol being consumed due to sugar content, there are almost 3 in 10 (28%) alcohol drinkers who claim they try and choose the alcohol they consume based on the one with the lowest sugar content. Indeed, almost 7 in 10 (68%) believe that alcohol suppliers should show the sugar content on their packaging. This clarity in relation to sugar may benefit some brands with 4 in 10 (40%) alcohol drinkers claiming they would choose a brand of alcohol if they knew it had less sugar in it.
* Article by Niall Swan, Checkout magazine
