'Cut-price supermarket booze to be banned to stamp out binge drinking'

Cut-price booze in supermarkets is to be banned in a bid to stamp out binge-drinking. Ministers are determined to stop stores peddling alcohol at ridiculously low prices that make it easy for teenagers to stock up on strong beer and cider - Mirror ​

English shops could also be forced to raise the basic cost of alcoholic drinks by a third or more, as Westminster considers plans similar to Scotland. Legislation could see English supermarkets and corner shops ordered to charge a minimum of between 35p and 40p per unit - The Telegraph ​

Price rises of up to 75 per cent could be imposed on wines, spirits and beers under Scottish Government while many alcopops and Buckfast tonic wine will be unaffected. Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary, said: "Drinking in a pub while socialising is perfectly acceptable. Buying large carry-outs and drinking on the street is not." - The Scotsman​

Culture secretary Andy Burnham yesterday poured cold water on the Scottish government's proposal to ban the advertising of alcohol on television before the 9pm watershed, describing it as a "bit silly" - The Guardian​

Children in England drink more alcohol and take more drugs than their counterparts in most of the Western world. A report from the World Health Organisation shows that English schoolchildren are among the most likely to have drunk alcohol in the past week, to have taken cannabis and to have had sex - Daily Mail ​

Red Bull, banned in Norway, Denmark, Uruguay and Iceland, is facing fresh criticism in the UK. Mixed with vodka, it has become a staple of student and twenty-something binge-drinkers. Chief Constable Stephen Otter, head of the Devon and Cornwall police, found that the typical consumption for a young British woman on a night out was eight vodka and Red Bull cocktails - Daily Mail​

Whitbread has ruled out a sale of the group's pub restaurants business, including the Beefeater, Brewer's Fayre and Table chains. Chief executive Alan Parker said: "I'm not looking to sell any pub restaurants at the moment. Our joint sites with our pub restaurants and our hotels are not for sale." Last month, Mitchells and Butlers expressed an interest in acquiring the business - Reuters ​