Commenting on the government's decision to continue pursuing its
ban on supermarket 'buy one get one free' offers, Head of
Lifestyle Economics at the free market think tank the Institute
of Economics Affairs, Christopher Snowdon, said:
“The government’s own impact assessment predicts that banning
these deals will reduce calorie consumption by the equivalent of
one grape a day.
"When Public Health England looked at it in 2015, they
concluded that it could cost households £634 a year and that
consumers use these offers as a 'coping mechanism' during periods
of high inflation. Repealing this policy at a time when food
inflation is nearly 20 per cent has to be the biggest no-brainer
in British politics today.”
Notes to Editors
Public Health England in its own words:
‘Based on the breadth and depth of promotions we can
calculate a “giveaway” figure which equates to a 16% or
approximately £634 reduction on a typical household’s annual,
take home food and drink bill.’ - Public Health
England
‘... during the high inflationary period of 2008-2010,
promotions were a useful coping strategy for shoppers to manage
the worst effects of food and drink inflation. During this period
as food and drink became relatively more expensive, behavioural
data shows that many shoppers increasingly selected items offered
on promotion to help them save money.’ - Public Health
England
‘... if people bought the same quantity of food and drink
with no promotions they would need to spend an additional £634
for the same items.’ - Public Health England
Public Health England (2015)
Sugar Reduction: The evidence for action. Annexe 4: An analysis
of the role of price promotions on the household purchases of
food and drinks high in sugar.
