Labour plan for 'alcohol, junk food and tobacco crackdown'

A Labour spokesman said papers leaked to The Mail on Sunday detailing plans for a tough clampdown on the sale and advertising of alcohol, unhealthy food and tobacco if the party was in Government, "represents a wide range of options" but was not official party policy.

According to a Labour policy document leaked to the Mail on Sunday, the party's key changes to the sale and advertising of alcohol, junk food and tobacco, include:

Alcohol

Labour says: "Up to 35% of all A&E attendances and ambulance costs may be alcohol related and up to 70% at weekend peak times."

• End drinks firms sponsoring sporting events by 2020
• Introduce a minimum price for alcohol
• Restrict where drink could be sold in supermarkets

Tobacco

So "children born in 2015 will become the first smoke-free generation for hundreds of years."

• Ban smoking in cars with children present - a measure already backed by MPs
• Introduce plain packaging

Junk Food

"The health consequences of obesity alone are estimated to coat the NHS more than £5 billion every year and cases of malnutrition are on the rise," the document states.

• Ban on some high-sugar breakfast cereals
• Put an end to sweets at the supermarket checkout
• 9pm watershed on TV adverts of products that are high in sugar, fat and salt

Leaked Labour policy documents show the party's plans for a tough clampdown on the sale and advertising of alcohol, unhealthy food and tobacco, as well as new laws on the amount of sugar, fat and salt in food aimed at children, the Mail on Sunday reported.

The plan would end sports sponsorship by drinks firms, impose minimum alcohol pricing in an effort to cut the impact of drinking on Britons' health, and ban the TV adverts of unhealthy products before the 9pm watershed.

The paper said that the plans are contained in a report to the "society" sub-group of the shadow cabinet.