'Ban drink adverts on TV before 9pm'

Alcohol advertising on TV should be banned before the 9pm watershed, the Royal College of Physicians said today.

Its call came as doctors criticised the Government for not tackling Britain's binge-drinking culture.

Currently the rules only state that alcohol adverts cannot be shown during children's programming, or "appeal" to under-18s. RCP member Chris Day, a professor of liver medicine, said: "The emphasis of adverts is still that drinking is sexy."

He said the cost of drink should rise, and a research agency should be set up to look into the health issues of alcohol.