The early impact of the UK's new alcohol taxation system on product strength and price: an exploratory comparative descriptive study

Abstract

Objectives: We explored the early impact of changes to the UK alcohol tax system, implemented in August 2023, on the strength and price of alcoholic products available for sale on the website of the largest supermarket in England. Study design: Our comparative descriptive study using longitudinal brand-level data was not preregistered and should be considered exploratory. Methods: Data were collected weekly (May to October 2023) using automated web scraping tools. Outcomes were product strength (% alcohol by volume [ABV]) and price (per 10 mL of pure alcohol and per litre of product). We undertook paired t-tests, two-sample KolmogoroveSmirnov tests, and quantile regression to compare outcomes before and after the tax changes. Beer, cider, spirits, and ready-to-drinks (RTDs) were analysed separately. Results: There was a reduction in the mean strength of beer, driven by manufacturers reformulating a small number of weaker beers, moving them into a lower tax band (<3.5%ABV). The mean price per 10 mL of alcohol and per litre of product was significantly higher after the new tax system for beer, cider, and spirits and significantly lower for RTDs. Increases in the price of beer tended to occur across the entire distribution, whereas increases in the price of cider occurred among more expensive products. Conclusions: Changes to product strength tended to occur among weaker products near the new lowest tax band, suggesting tax bands may be a potential stimulus for change. Reformulation of stronger products would have better public health potential. Longer term monitoring, including data on purchasing/consumption, is required.