Gov't panel targets alcohol ads

A Government advisory panel has called for a ban on breweries sponsoring sporting events and a ban on TV advertising for alcohol.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) also calls for measures such as raising duty on alcohol and hard-hitting lessons for school children on the dangers of excessive drinking.

We've seen over the last 10 to 12 years our consumption of alcohol has virtually doubled.​Dr Laurence Gruer, chairman of the ACMD.

The ACMD says the measures are needed to cut a dangerous rise in alcohol-related disease.

The report says: "Given the continuing rise in the prevalence of alcohol-related health problems and the high levels of drinking among young people, we recommend that a much stricter code for alcohol advertising (including via the internet) and sponsorship should be established.​

"This would include prohibiting alcohol advertising on TV or in cinemas showing films to under-18s and prohibiting sponsorship by alcohol companies of sports or music events attended or watched by under-18s."

Dr Laurence Gruer, chairman of the ACMD, said: "We've seen over the last 10 to 12 years, particularly among young women, our consumption of alcohol has virtually doubled.​

"We are also seeing across the whole of the UK a dramatic rise in the amount of cirrhosis of the liver that's caused by chronic drinking and we are now the fastest growing country in Europe in terms of alcoholic cirrhosis"

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