'Free drinks for women' offers may be banned

Bars could be banned from offering free alchohol to women and restaurants may be obliged to serve wine in glasses with marked measures under new proposals being considered by the government, it emerged yesterday.

The moves are intended to cut public drunkenness - and its attendant health and social problems - by encouraging people to drink sensibly.

Other initiatives under consideration include the compulsory display of health warnings wherever alcohol is sold, curbs on free wine, whisky and beer tastings and a ban on drinking games.

The Home Office and the Department of Health said that draft proposals had been issued as part of a consultation on the government's alcohol strategy - Safe, Sensible, Social - which is due to end on Tuesday. The proposals were disclosed in the Sunday Times, which saw a copy of the code for the drinks industry.

The document notes that the introduction of 24-hour drinking has failed to bring about the shift in behaviour that some had hoped for and that a more continental "cafe culture" has not been widely adopted. It criticises many prevalent attitudes to alcohol and warns that drinks should not be promoted as a way of enhancing an individual's "social, sexual, physical, mental and financial or sporting performance".

The health warnings would include a graphic telling the drinker how many units their glass or bottle contains, a statement from the chief medical officer on safe drinking and the address of a website offering information on moderate alcohol consumption.

Licensees reacted angrily to the prospect of further regulation, saying that, given the current economic situation, they needed a more restrictive code like a "hole in the head".