Ministers charged with delivering the Olympic Games have vowed to protect young people from binge drinking.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) officials reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring alcoholic drinks are not targeted at young people. The pledge came after calls from doctors to introduce new curbs on alcohol advertising.
In an open letter to The Guardian, a team of leading consultants warned we are facing an epidemic of liver disease caused by a binge drinking culture and cheap booze.
Figures showed medics in the North East were struggling with a 400% increase in the number of hospital admissions for people in their early 30s with alcoholic liver disease.
Balance, the north east of England's alcohol office, has demanded a stop to the alcohol industry recruiting young people as the next generation of problem drinkers.
It said children were "swimming through 40% proof advertising" and were being encouraged to start drinking younger, and to drink more.
A DCMS spokesman said: "It is imperative that we have robust, evidence-based alcohol advertising rules in place to ensure appropriate levels of consumer protection, especially for children and young people.
"Ofcom and the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) have taken action to strengthen the alcohol advertising rules. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the UK's regulatory regimes to ensure that there is sufficient protection for the public."
Balance has demanded a ban on alcohol advertising on television and during non-18 certificate films in the cinema, as well as a halt to the sponsoring of sports and cultural events.
A spokesman for the Department of Health said the Government had already taken tough action to strengthen licensing laws through the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act and was working to develop a strategy to reduce deaths from liver disease.