Wine and Spirits Getting Stronger, Setting Back Effort to Cut Illnesses and Death

The Guardian reports that wine and spirits are getting stronger in the United Kingdom, affecting government efforts to get the drinks industry to remove 1bn units of alcohol from high street stores. The average volume of alcohol in drinks edged up from 7.25% to 7.31% between 2011 and 2012, according to a little-noticed Department of Health report. Health ministers want the industry to remove 1bn units from supermarket and off-license shelves by the end of 2015 to help cut alcohol-related illnesses and deaths.