Abi Stevely is a Research Fellow in the Sheffield Addictions Research Group, holding degrees in biomedical sciences and public health from the University of Sheffield. Abi has worked at the Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR) since 2020 and held an NIHR SPHR Launching Fellowship from 2023 to 2025. Much of their work has focused on evaluating major policy interventions including minimum unit pricing in Scotland. They have also worked on understanding the impact of COVID-19 on drinking behaviour. Current research focuses on the 2024 Alcohol Duty reforms and the public health impact of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks.

Abstract

Are alcohol-free and low alcohol drinks used as substitutes for standard alcohol?

This presentation will summarise the evidence so far on whether no/lo drinks are used as substitutes for standard alcoholic drinks, including new evidence from our team. Our ongoing work estimates the impact of changes in population-level sales of no/lo drinks on sales of standard alcoholic drinks in Great Britain. It uses instrumental-variable time series methods (IVSVAR) to analyse market research data from Circana and CGA. By using an instrumental variable approach, we aim to isolate the causal effect of no/lo sales on alcohol sales and avoid bias from external factors driving sales or effects of standard alcoholic drinks sales on no/lo sales. The presentation will present results from analyses of the whole market, and the off-trade (e.g. supermarkets) and on-trade (e.g. pubs/ restaurants) separately.