THE Government has dropped plans to ban or increase the tax on alcopops in favour of tough new controls on their sale, marketing, and advertising.

Final details of a deal between ministers and the drinks industry will be hammered out in the next two weeks.

A special committee chaired by Home Office minister George Howarth has been examining what to do about the highly alcoholic "designer" soft drinks for six weeks.

The move was sparked when Home Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw heard about the torching of Withins School in Bolton by 14-year-old boy drunk on alcopops.

The bill for the damage was £750,000 and the judge in the case had no doubt where the blame lay.

Originally, ministers considered a ban or heavy tax on the new generation of brightly coloured and packaged sweet fizzy drinks.

But the difficulty was defining alcopops so that other beverages such as cider and shandy were not caught in the net. Instead, the drinks industry has come up with a package of proposals that the committee thinks will work.

But with the backing of Mr Straw, they have made clear to the brewery bosses that if they do not or there is any backsliding, a ban or heavy duty increases will be back on the agenda.

Work on the definition problem will continue in the meanwhile. The keys to new strategy being drawn up are making the drinks more difficult for under 18s to buy and changing the whole marketing strategy which ministers believe is now targeted on 15 to 16 year olds - especially girls.

Changes to the names and packaging of the drinks are being demanded.

Ministers want the bright colours removed and some action to tone down the sugariness that attracts youngsters to the drinks.

The advertising - which currently uses cult teenage images and language - will also have to change dramatically.

The number and range of outlets where the drinks are sold is due to be restricted.

Supermarket and corner shop sales are under threat with MInisters seeking a promise that alcopops are only sold in pubs and dedicated off-licences.

In addition, they hope to agree in the next few days to some form of identity card system where young people have to prove they are 18 to buy alcopops or any other alcoholic drinks.

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