Living cost crisis: 1 out of 10 youths in UK admits them shoplifting

London: The cost of living in the UK has increased critically in the past two years, and one in 10 young adults admits that they shoplift items from supermarkets to cope with the crisis, NDTV reported citing The Metro.

The crisis sharply worsened between 2021 and 2022, making it difficult for households to meet their needs.

In recent months, inflation floated at double digits, a tiring 10.4 per cent and has kept food and fuel costs pretty high.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) released data suggesting that the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose by 19.1 per cent. The cost of some has doubled over a year.

A report suggested that essential items such as children's medication, Capol, are the most often shoplifted in the country. Shop owners are focusing on adding security tags on specific products like milk and cheese. Further, according to The Independent Office of National Statistics, figures for England and Wales suggested that shoplifting increased by 22 per cent till September 2022. The British Retail Consortium's data showed that 7.9 million cases were registered that year which is five million more than in 2016-17. Also, shoplifting cost the British economy 660 million pounds in 2021-22, a 2022 study by the Centre for Retail Research found.