Super-strength argument

From left: Gordon Finest Platinum - 12 per cent alcohol (4.7 standard drinks), Pirate Beer Extra Forte and Morland Excalibur - both 8.5 percent alcohol (3.3 standard drinks). Photos / Doug Sherring

Super-strong imported beers are fuelling New Zealand's binge drinking culture and a surge in violent behaviour, alcohol watchdogs warn.

Brews with alcohol content of up to 12 per cent are on the shelves of supermarkets and bottle stores, prompting calls for higher taxes and prices.

Alcohol Advisory Council chief executive Gerard Vaughan said he had noticed high-strength beers in supermarkets much more in the past month.

And with names like Platinum XXXrta strong and Crest 10 per cent Extra Forte, they could appear attractive to those looking to get drunk fast.

"It is a concern to us. Alcohol is the problem behind a huge percentage of accidents, injuries, drink driving, family violence and health concerns."

Alcohol Healthwatch director Rebecca Williams said there were no regulations to stop beers getting even stronger - much like ready-to-drink beverages have.

The concern comes as New Zealand and Australian police unite for a pre-Christmas clampdown on drunken violence on December 11 and 12.

It follows a Law Commission consultation paper on how the Government could reform liquor laws to bring down alcohol-related crime.

Suggestions include raising the minimum alcohol purchasing age and regulating pricing.

Williams and Vaughan also want lower taxes for low-alcohol drinks.

The Food Standards Australia New Zealand code says all alcoholic drinks must state the approximate number of standard drinks in the bottle, as well as the alcohol content. The rules do not require a maximum alcohol limit.

The Herald on Sunday found five examples of imported beers on sale in half-litre cans in supermarkets with alcohol content from 8.5 to 12 per cent.

The strongest - 12 per cent Gordon Finest Platinum - has the same alcohol content as many wines.

It's also equivalent to 4.7 standard drinks, one more than the Alcohol Advisory Council's recommended daily intake for women. All were imported by Auckland company Beer Force International.

A company spokesman said alcohol taxes had risen from $15 to $29 per litre of pure alcohol in 15 years.

He rejected claims that high-strength beers fuel New Zealand's drinking problems, and said the answers lay with other aspects of the liquor laws.

"If people are going to drink to get drunk it doesn't matter what alcohol they're drinking."

Bill Moore of Progressive Enterprises, which owns Foodtown and Woolworths, said low-cost imported beers with high alcohol content were a "very small percentage" of the company's alcohol sales.

A spokeswoman from Foodstuffs, which runs Pak'n Save and New World, said the company did not sell alcohol below cost and supported the Law Commission's bid to lower prices for low-alcohol products.

The commission's final recommendations are due to be released in March.

NUMBERS

25

percentage of New Zealanders to identify themselves as binge drinkers in a 2008 Alcohol Advisory Council survey.

$ 5b

Estimated annual cost of alcohol misuse.

31

percentage of offences reported to police in which alcohol was a factor.