Rapid drinking prevented under Portman Group rules

Encouraging rapid drinking will be prevented under new marketing rules published by the Portman Group today.

The new restriction will apply to all pre-packaged alcoholic drinks marketed in the UK from January 1, 2008.

The Code covers a drink's name and packaging, press releases, websites, sponsorship, sampling, branded merchandise, advertorials and all other promotional material.

It seeks to make sure that all alcohol marketing is responsible, does not target under-18s and in no way encourages excessive drinking.

David Poley, chief executive of the Portman Group, said: "Downing drinks is potentially damaging because it can cause people quickly to get drunk.

"In the end, only drinkers can control the way they drink. Producers want to promote responsible behaviour and not a drinking style which can be harmful."

"Ultimately, the Independent Complaints Panel will judge if a drink's marketing is in breach of the Code.

"The Panel could rule against drinks calling themselves shooters and slammers if they decide such names urge rapid drinking. To avoid that happening, we recommend that producers of these drinks re-brand them before the new rule comes into effect next year."

The other new rule in the Code is the requirement for alcohol branding to be removed from children's replica sports shirts in sponsorship contracts signed after January 1, 2008.

The new Code also incorporates a voluntary best practice section giving advice on matters such as labelling and website age verification pages.

In the last year, the Portman Group gave responsible marketing advice to drinks companies on 210 occasions.