The Co-op and Iceland ban the sale of alcopops

Prior to George Howarth's statement the Co-op and Iceland had banned the sale of alcopops and called on other retailers to follow their example.

Announcing the move, the Co-op's head of buying and marketing team, Bill Shannon, said: 'As responsible retailers, we feel the time has come to act, given the concern expressed by our own customers, pressure groups and the Government. We believe these drinks are designed specifically to appeal to young people and are, in fact, largely consumed by under-18s who cannot legally buy them.'

Mr. Shannon went on to criticise the self-regulation of the manufacturers carried out by the industry's Portman Group, saying it was `inadequate and ultimately powerless to stop such drinks coming onto the market.'

Malcolm Walker, chairman of Iceland, said his company's decision not to sell alcopops had been prompted by customer concern.

'While commercially this decision will hurt, as a family company we must act responsibly and reflect the views of customers. There is definite evidence that these drinks are encouraging under-age drinking - this cannot be tolerated. We very much hope that our action will motivate other retailers to do likewise and would ask manufacturers of these products to consider their community obligations.

Bass, which produces two-thirds of all alcopops and sponsors the Portman Group, said: `We are disappointed with the Co-op's actions and totally disagree with their comments regarding alcopops. Under-age drinking will not be eradicated by arbitrarily targeting or demonising popular drinks which are enjoyed responsibly by the vast majority of consumers.'

Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Safeway all rejected the call to ban alcopops. However, Tesco announced that it was banning `alcoholic milkshake' and all the retailers said they were tightening up on sales of alcopops to the underaged. Tesco is demanding that alcopops carry stronger warning labels and has banned all in-store alcopop promotions. Asda said it was meeting suppliers to insist on stricter control of marketing and labelling of the products. Sainsbury said it was putting stickers over the bar codes of alcopops to remind staff to check the age of the customers. However, a spokesman for Sainsbury added:

'We don't make moral decisions on behalf of our customers. Where there is a demand for a product, we believe customers should have a choice.'

Since the Government statement a number of retailers, including JD Wetherspoon the independent pub chain, have followed the earlier lead of the Co-op. Bass continues to protest that such action is extreme.

Stirling University together with its students union has banned designer drinks such as Hooch, TNT and MD 20/20 from all the campus bars. The ban has been praised by the Scottish Health Education Board who wish more institutions would follow Stirling's 'responsible approach'.