[Preview] Opinion: Alcohol-free beer hype is unhelpful

Heavy marketing has created a buzz around alcohol-free beer diverting vital public attention from surging rates of alcohol harm. The stakes are too high to let commercial hype eclipse evidence-based action..

Alcohol deaths were up 33% on pre-pandemic levels in 2022 in the UK, for example. This astonished a BBC Radio 4 news anchor in May, so it is fair to assume the general public is probably less aware still of this dire situation. The US post-pandemic alcohol death surge is similar, at 31%, yet media coverage is sparse and the political response faltering. The WHO warned in summer “there has been little or no progress” in reducing alcohol consumption and harms in Europe.