Alcohol brands may face sports sponsorship ban

The Government is considering a ban on sports sponsorship by drinks companies in an attempt to curb alcohol misuse and binge drinking. 

In an interview with a weekend newspaper, chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson is reported to have said that he wants to ban drinks companies from sponsoring sporting events because “it’s something that worked with tobacco”.

While talking about his concerns about the overall problem of alcohol misuse he also gave his support to increased taxation on alcohol.

He told The Telegraph: “I would certainly strongly commend increased taxation, the evidence is quite strong that putting the price up helps. Prices of alcohol have fallen relative to the cost of living.”

The chief medical officer cited the ban on smoking in public places as his greatest achievement in almost 10 years in the job. He added: “The first thing you see when you walk into a supermarket is a wall of cigarette packets, we need to do something about that, and let’s get the cigarette out of Kate Moss’ mouth.”