Promotion of alcohol to be governed by stricter code

The promotion of alcohol to young people in a way that suggests bravado, sexual or social success was banned yesterday under a tough code published by the drink industry's own watchdog.

The Portman Group, funded by seven leading alcohol manufacturers, said the clampdown was in response to irresponsible promotions, sponsorship deals, websites and branded merchandise.

The move follows rising concern at underage drinking, which has doubled in a decade. Products such as Hard Core, a high-strength cider promoted with images of scantily clad woman and labelled "Adults only", launched this summer, have been attacked for bringing the industry into disrepute.

In 1996 the Portman Group issued a code to curb the promotion of alcopops, sugary drinks laced with alcohol designed to attract teenagers. Yesterday's changes, the first since then, extend the code to wider promotional activity.

Some companies have tried to evade the licensing laws by marketing alcoholic jellies and ice lollies, claiming they were foodstuffs, not drinks. Bad Jelly, produced by the Bad Jelly Company, and Spiked Ice, produced by Thornlodge, are among products against which complaints have been upheld.

Brewers sponsoring football clubs have produced cuddly toys carrying the company logo. Some Liverpool supporters objected to baby clothes sold by the club with the word Carlsberg across the chest.

Jean Cousins, the director of the Portman Group, said: "The code has been a very effective piece of self-regulation for six years. We have swept over 60 products off the market because their design appealed to children or encouraged antisocial behaviour. Now we are plugging another regulation gap and extending the code."

There are more than 120 signatories to the code and, in addition to naming errant companies, the Portman Group has the authority to issue a "retailer alert", instructing retailers not to stock the product. So far, companies found in breach of the existing code have complied in every case, by withdrawing the product or by modifying the packaging.

The code applies only to the design of products and point-of-sale promotion. A spokesman said press and television advertising were covered by existing regulatory bodies, the Advertising Standards Authority and the Independent Television Commission. Last week, the ITC upheld a complaint that a sexually suggestive advertisement for a brand of lager should not have been shown before the 9pm watershed.

Lord Condon, the chairman of the complaints panel and a former Metropolitan Police commissioner, said: "It has been virtually impossible to market a product successfully if it is out of line with the code. I hope producers will act as swiftly ... over any other activity covered by the new code."

The number of young people aged 11 to 15 who drink has remained stable at about 60 per cent since 1990, but the amount drunk by them has doubled to 10.4 units of alcohol a week, equivalent to five bottles of alcopops or five pints of cider. Binge drinking is also on the increase, according to the pressure group Alcohol Concern.

A spokeswoman for the group said: "We welcome this new code but we are concerned that companies are not seeking advice prior to the launch of questionable products."