'Alcohol promotion crackdown planned'

Pubs, bars and off-licences are facing a crackdown on booze sales under new rules aimed at tackling binge drinking. Ministers will launch proposals for a ban on what they call "irresponsible" drinks promotions. The mandatory code will stop offers that encourage binge drinking, such as the "dentist's chair" where alcohol is poured directly in to drinkers' mouths - The Mirror​

A parliamentary committee has delivered a stinging rebuke to Britain's biggest tenanted pub companies after concluding that the "tied" business model should be referred to the Competition Commission. A report from the Business and Enterprise Committee, published today, calls into question the reliability of some of the evidence supplied by the bosses of Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns, the two biggest "pubcos", as part of its 11-month inquiry - The Times​

A South Yorkshire's pub's crafty way to get around the smoking ban looks like being stubbed out after less than a week.The tap room has been turned into a 'Smoking Research Centre' and customers can't get a drink until they have filled in a questionnaire. It asks how many cigarettes they smoke and whether they like a smoky atmosphere in pubs. Landlady Kerry Fenton, of the Cutting Edge at Worsbrough, near Barnsley, claims trade has doubled since she set up the 'centre' last Friday - The Yorkshire Star​

Shared pub group Enterprise Inns fell another 8 per cent as it announced the scrapping of its dividend in a bid to conserve cash and unveiled plans to sell as many as 700 of its pubs - Daily Mail​

Sales of non and low-alcohol bitter and lager sprinted 10 per cent last year while sales of ordinary beer dipped by 5 per cent, according to Euromonitor, which forecast a further 23 per cent rise in low and no-alcohol drinks by 2013. The boom could persuade more brewers to launch low-strength lagers, which have hitherto played only a cameo role in the nation's beer-drinking life, the market researchers said - The Independent​

Heineken: The Dutch brewer is rumoured to have reached agreement in its dispute with United Breweries, the Indian group in which it inherited a 37.5 per cent stake as part of last year's Scottish & Newcastle deal - The Times​