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" The government should introduce new legislation to protect children from alcohol advertising, an MP has said. Conservative backbencher Dr Sarah Wollaston, who is a GP, is introducing a private member&amp;#039;s bill on the issue. Dr Wollaston believes the government should modify existing French laws that only allow alcohol advertising in media aimed at adults and ensure the promotional messages are factual. The laws were introduced in France in 1991 and are designed to protect children from alcohol marketing. France has succeeded in reducing alcohol consumption since 1960, whereas the UK now has one of the highest levels of binge-drinking and drunkenness among schoolchildren in Europe. Writing in the British Medical Journal, Professor Gerard Hastings, director of the Institute for Social Marketing at the University of Stirling, and Dr Nick Sheron, head of clinical hepatology at the University of Southampton, agreed that young people&amp;#039;s exposure to alcohol advertising needs to be addressed. They noted that the UK drinks industry spends \u00A3800 million a year on alcohol promotions, while the budget for the UK&amp;#039;s biggest alcohol education initiative in 2010 was just \u00A32.6 million. &amp;#039;For every \u00A31 spent advising young people about the downsides of drinking, several hundred pounds are spent encouraging them to drink more,&amp;#039; they revealed. The experts added that the legislation in question - known as the &amp;#039;loi evin&amp;#039; - is &amp;#039;a French innovation that the UK needs&amp;#039;. Leading medics voiced their support for the private member&amp;#039;s bill. Dr Ram Moorthy, deputy chairman of the British Medical Association&amp;#039;s (BMA) board of science, said: &amp;#039;The BMA is extremely pleased that Dr Sarah Wollaston is introducing this bill to protect children from alcohol advertising. &amp;#039;Alcohol misuse leads to serious ill-health, premature death and is linked to violence and anti-social behaviour. It also costs the NHS millions of pounds every year.&amp;#039; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/wellbeing/news/a20795/calls-to-protect-children-from-alcohol-ads/>