The impact of introducing alcohol‐free beer options in bars and public houses on alcohol sales and revenue: A randomised crossover field trial

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Abstract
Aims: The study aimed to estimate the impact of introducing a draught alcohol‐free beer, thereby increasing the relative availability of these products, on alcohol sales and monetary takings in bars and pubs in England.Design: Randomised crossover field trial.Setting: England.Participants: Fourteen venues that did not previously sell draught alcohol‐free beer.Intervention and comparator: Venues completed two intervention periods and two control periods in a randomised order over 8 weeks. Intervention periods involved replacing one draught alcoholic beer with an alcohol‐free beer. Control periods operated business as usual.Measurements: The primary outcome was mean weekly volume (in litres) of draught alcoholic beer sold. The secondary outcome was mean weekly revenue [in GBP (£)] from all drinks. Analyses adjusted for randomised order, special events, season and busyness.Findings: The adjusted mean difference in weekly sales of draught alcoholic beer was −20 L [95% confidence interval (CI) = −41 to +0.4], equivalent to a 4% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.1% increase) in the volume of alcoholic draught beer sold when draught alcohol‐free beer was available. Excluding venues that failed at least one fidelity check resulted in an adjusted mean difference of −29 L per week (95% CI = −53 to −5), equivalent to a 5% reduction (95% CI = 8% reduction to 0.8% reduction). The adjusted mean difference in weekly revenue was +61 GBP per week (95% CI = −328 to +450), equivalent to a 1% increase (95% CI = 5% decrease to 7% increase) when draught alcohol‐free beer was available.Conclusions: Introducing a draught alcohol‐free beer in bars and pubs in England reduced the volume of draught alcoholic beer sold by 4% to 5%, with no evidence of the intervention impacting net revenue.
Funding Information
  • Wellcome Trust (206853/Z/17/Z)
  • Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00011/7)
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research (BRC‐1215‐20011)

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