Poster warning for women who binge drink

Women in London are being warned that binge-drinking will destroy their looks for good.

A new poster campaign launched today on the Underground depicts a woman with saggy skin and a blotchy nose. It carries the message: "If you drink like a man you might end up looking like one."

The aim is to appeal to women through their vanity by showing they risk bad skin, premature ageing and weight gain if they drink excessively.

The campaign has been devised by the Drug and Alcohol Service for London. Research by the charity revealed that two out of five women are worried about the physical impact of drink and only a third about health risks.

The Government has already launched its own £10million campaign to increase awareness about excessive drinking, which includes warnings to young women about the link between alcohol abuse and breast cancer. But alcohol service campaign spokesman Harrinder Dhillon said: "Women are clearly not reacting to the health warnings and drinking among females is getting worse year on year.

"Despite understanding the health dangers related to drinking, liver or heart disease seems a long way off. Our campaign strikes a chord with every woman around the country."

The service's research found that two out of five women felt getting fat would stop them from drinking too much compared with a third concerned about heart disease. Official figures show the number of women dying from alcohol abuse has nearly doubled over a decade.