Pubdate: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 Source: Reuter Britain cracks down on underage drinking By Gerrard Raven LONDON (Reuter) Just as Britain moves to clamp down on underage drinking, youngsters are getting hooked on ``alcopops'' alcoholic fruit drinks and lemonades which are blamed for worsening the problem. Critics say the sweet, garishlylabelled drinks are cynically targeted at the young, and some retailers and pub chains have reacted by banning them. But campaigners against alcohol abuse and industry analysts say action taken so far won't solve the problem. The Labor government, which swept to power in May, has moved fast to tackle what it says is a growing problem of drunken rowdiness which is making life miserable for ordinary people in many towns and cities. Laws which came into force on August 1 allow the police to seize alcohol from under18s drinking in public places. The government also plans to make it a crime for an adult to buy drink for youngsters and to allow local authorities to employ ``alcocops'' young people who would go into pubs and liquor stores to test whether proprietors were willing to serve them with alcohol illegally. ``We have all seen drunken youngsters creating mayhem and causing alarm and distress to the community,'' junior interior minister Alun Michael said in a statement introducing the new measures. ``We are determined to tackle disorder and antisocial behavior.'' EXTENT OF UNDERAGE DRINKING Research by Michael's department, the Home Office, suggests that a quarter of 1213 years olds and nearly a third of 1415 year olds taste alcopops in a typical week. The government has given the drinks industry a year to prove that it is not aiming products such as alcopops at young people. Many adults suspect the gaudilylabelled products with names like Hooch, Vanilla Heist and Lemon Jag are deliberately aimed at youngsters who are not attracted by more traditional lager or bitter beer. After convicting a 14yearold boy for attempting to burn down his school while high on alcoholic lemonade, Judge Peter Lakin told a court in Bolton, northern England: ``My view is that it is grossly irresponsible of drinks companies to market these drinks and dress up alcohol as soft drinks.'' But the industry argues that other drinks are more popular with these age groups and insists the attacks on alcopops are misguided. ``Demonizing alcopops will not help solve the problem of underage drinking,'' said a spokesman for Bass brewers, whose Hooch is the market leader. ``Research has shown that strong lagers, ciders and fortified wines are the drinks of choice for underage drinkers. It would be much more beneficial if pubs told their bar staff to demand proof of age before they served young people.'' One British alcopop company, the Spilt Drinks Company, provoked further outrage when it said its own alcopop, Jammin', was not aimed at young people but at ``bored housewives.'' The government says it may step in to regulate the sale of alcopops unless a code of selfregulation drawn up by the industry body the Portman Group proves effective. The code tightens restrictions on packaging and labelling, and bans marketing techniques such as suggesting a link between the product and sexual success or prowess. RETAILERS TAKE ACTION But retailers have already begun to act. The Cooperative Wholesale Society announced this summer that it would no longer stock alcopops in its liquor stores. Then trendy pub chain operator J.D. Wetherspoon banned the drinks from its bar shelves. ``Alcopops have had a lot of bad publicity...we simply do not want to be associated with the controversy,'' said Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin in a statement. Mark Bennett, spokesman for the pressure group Alcohol Concern, criticized the government for failing to stand up to the brewing industry. ``It is not the licensees (of pubs and liquor stores) who invented the alcopops problem,'' he told Reuters. ``It is the manufacturers, and yet the manufacturers are still getting away with a fairly easy system of selfregulation.'' Dermott Carr, brewing industry analyst at brokers Nikko Securities, said he doubted the action taken so far by the government, which includes modest tax increases on alcopops, would have more than a minimal impact on young people's drinking habits. ``Are we ever going to stop youngsters drinking? The answer is probably no,'' he said. REUTER