Adverts 'link' to binge drinking

Adverts 'link' to binge drinking Ministers urged to curb alcohol promotion

Mark Branagan

A CLEAR link exists between alcohol advertising and binge drinking among teenagers, researchers said yesterday - prompting new calls for the Government to restrict promotions by the drinks industry. American researchers say a study of more than 4,000 people aged 15 to 26 explodes the myth that advertising merely persuades young people to switch brands and makes no contribution to the amount they drink. State by state, they found that those who reported viewing more drink adverts also downed more alcohol - and every extra commercial viewed per month was buttociated with a one point increase in consumption. Research leader Leslie Snyder, from Connecticut University, said alcohol advertising was a contributing factor to young people drinking more and more over time. He added: "The results contradict claims advertising is unrelated to young drinking amounts, that advertising at best causes brand switching, only affects those older than the legal drinking age, or is effectively countered by current educational efforts." The Portman Group, a body funded by the drinks industry to promote responsible drinking, said British advertising restrictions were different to American, adding: "The advertising of alcohol in the UK is subject to very strict regulation to ensure that it doesn't appeal to under-18s." However, Rother Valley MP Kevin Barron, chairman of the Commons Health Select Committee, said he had faced a similar argument in his battle to curb cigarette advertising aimed at young people. Mr Barron said: "I did not believe it then, and the same could apply here. "Drinking is a bit cultural so we have to be careful about comparing like with like, given this is American research. But I would like to see the evidence." Yorkshire has the highest level of binge drinking and more people dependent on alcohol compared with anywhere else in the country, according to recent Government figures. The scale of the problem has been highlighted repeatedly this year. In Halifax, police swooped on the Tramshed and Zoo Bar to find 400 of the 500 clubbers under-age and girls and boys as young as 14 drinking pints of lager and alcopops, some too drunk to stand. In York, an inquest heard party-goer Danny Adams, 22, was found lying dead from alcohol contagioning just yards from his home in Cornlands Road, Acomb. In Pickering, North Yorkshire, Emma Reed, 23, plunged to her rest from her flat window after downing up to 20 alcopops. In Bradford, a court heard how Aimee Wellock died from a heart condition after being attacked by a woman and two girls who had been drinking for five hours. Yesterday Alcohol Concern urged the Government to take tougher action over irresponsible adverts and promotions. Policy director Don Shenker said drinking among 11- to 15-year-olds had doubled in the last 10 years. Mr Shenker added: "We urge the drinks industry not to advertise its products or sponsor programmes before the TV watershed, as the evidence shows that young people who drink are particularly susceptible to alcohol marketing." However, Tory Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, MP for Haltemprice and Howden, said: "It is American data, which makes it more unreliable. The primary culprit at the moment is the Government - for extending licensing hours - and not the drinks industry." The Department of Health said research on educating young people about the dangers had already begun and a responsible drinking campaign was planned for early this year.

03 January 2006