A leading medical expert has called for half bottles of wine to be made cheaper and more available to prevent excessive drinking.
Trish Groves, the editor of the British Medical Journal, has said that people would be less tempted to drink over their recommended daily alcohol limit if they could buy smaller sized bottles of wine more easily.
She pointed out that while in France many supermarkets and cafés sold smaller quantities, in the UK most of the wine on offer was in standard 75cl bottles and the half portions that were on offer were prohibitively priced.
Groves said: “It's all too tempting to finish the bottle there and then to avoid waste. Coupled with the news that wine is getting stronger, it's no wonder Britain's middle classes are getting wasted.”
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association said that although the industry supported increasing consumer choice, it already provided a range of wines in different bottle sizes and in varied types of packaging.
