Drinks companies have been warned by the Government that it will impose more curbs on their freedom to advertise unless they include starker, cigarette-style warnings about the dangers of alcohol in their ads.
Drinks-makers will consider the plan, as well as support the Government's "sensible drinking" drive. The culture secretary, Andy Burnham, said: "We will encourage them to press on with trials to test their warnings' effectiveness. If we need to, we'll consider more restrictions."
At a briefing this week, he said the Government would not scrap 24-hour licensing, but said concern over binge-drinking has fuelled demands for greater curbs on ads.
Local authorities have called for a crackdown, accusing the drinks industry of going to "incredible lengths" to target young people.
- Close-up 2, page 9.
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