Crackdown on alcohol advertising industry to protect children proposed

Tough new measures could be forced on the advertising industry to protect children from alcohol marketing messages and tackle young binge drinkers.

New measures must be introduced to protect children, say Professor Gerard Hastings and Dr Nick Sheron, who believe that binge drinking youngsters and the exposure they have to alcohol advertising must be tackled.

They are calling for the UK to follow the same tough restrictions France places on alcohol advertising on the British Medical Journal website today.

An average of two alcohol-related deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2008 among 15 – 24 year olds.

“Clumsily imposed self regulatory codes,” are to blame for the UK having one of the highest levels of drunkenness among schoolchildren, Hastings and Sheron argue.

MP Sarah Wollaston will be putting forward a private member’s bill next week, urging the Government to take a new approach to safeguarding children from advertising.

Contained in the bill will be legislation making alcohol advertising in the media aimed at adults and force promotional messages to be factual and verifiable.