BBC DJs criticised for promoting booze

"Alcohol was frequently positioned as a marker of the weekend, and a hangover as a marker of a good night out," said lead researcher Professor Norma Daykin.

"The notion of not drinking alcohol to enjoy yourself, particularly at times of celebration such as Christmas and New Year, seemed unthinkable."

But she pointed out some presenters were able to create an identity and connection with their audience without encouraging drinking.

"This suggests radio presenters and producers have a choice - they don't have to encourage drinking to be seen as 'cool' or in touch with their listeners."

Radio DJs including Chris Moyles could be driving listeners to drink.

#bodycopy a { font-size: 12pThey regularly talk about booze or hangovers, and about three-quarters of their remarks encourage supping, sometimes to excess. 

Researchers who studied 1,200 hours of radio output found 703 references to boozing. One show was even entitled The Morning After and had a jingle starting: “If you’re hung over from the night before…”