Supermarkets shelve alcohol next to sweets

UK Supermarkets have been branded “irresponsible” by campaigners for selling alcohol next to sweets.

The Home Office has claimed supermarkets have acted “irresponsibly” by selling alcohol next to sweets

Campaigners have said that some supermarkets endeavour to target parents by situating spirits bottles next to shelves holding sweets.

It was discovered that one Sainsbury’s store sold Absolut vodka, Grant’s whisky, and Bacardi rum alongside shelves holding chocolate penguins, Smarties and Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles.

One Lidl store also stocked boxes of Jaffa Cakes next to bottles  of various types of alcohol.

Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat crime prevention minister at the Home Office, told the Mail Online that this practice “only encourages impulse buying”, adding that it is “unacceptable and needs to stop”.

“Industry needs to raise its game and do much more to help reduce problem drinking, and supermarkets have to recognise they have a significant part to play in this,” he said.

“They need to promote and display alcohol more responsibly, do their bit to improve public awareness of the dangers of drink and support local areas in tackling alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder.”

Meanwhile, Alcohol Concern has expressed worry that in stocking alcohol alongside item’s targeted towards children, supermarkets run the risk of “normalising the role of alcohol in society”.

Sainsbury’s has responded by claiming that it takes its age-restricted products “very seriously”, while Lidl said that it “will take any comments about the merchandising of our products on board”.