Alcoholic ice lolly craze creating ‘drink drive’ threat, police warn

Source: The Telegraph

Katie Morley, consumer affairs editor

14 JUNE 2017

Police are issuing warnings to drivers over alcoholic ice lollies as they say the new summer trend is creating drink drive risk.

The lollies are flying off the shelves in supermarkets including Sainsbury’s and Aldi and contain levels of alcohol which are enough to put people over the legal limit.

Traffic officers in the North East issued the advice as gin and tonic, prosecco and peach bellini lollies have become more popular as temperatures warm up.

Aldi said the pops had been so popular that it was having stock issues, leaving customers in some areas unable to find them.

Officers said the lollies generally have an alcohol content of around 4.5 per cent – the same as a strong lager. They said people could be lulled into a false sense of security because the alcohol was in frozen form.

Frozen cocktails being sold at Sainsbury’s are more than twice as strong and contain a shot of rum, coming in at 10 per cent ABV. The push pops contain 67 calories and come in flavours including Mojito, Strawberry Daquiri and Pina Colada.

Acting Inspector Harry Simpson, from the Cleveland and Durham Operations Unit, said: “These lollies are becoming really popular and it’s easy to forget that they contain alcohol and aren’t just flavouring.

“On a hot summer’s day it is easy to lose count of how many you have, and then get behind the wheel of a car.

“If you wouldn’t consider drinking a gin and tonic or cocktail when driving, then you shouldn’t consider having one of these lollies.”

An Aldi spokeswoman said: “The alcohol content of these products is clearly labelled on the product packaging to help our customers to make informed choices about the alcohol products they buy.”