Editorial: Role models' foolishness is a sobering thought

In its report, Alcohol Misuse: Tackling the UK Epidemic, the British Medical Association last week urged the government to raise taxes on alcohol, cut licensing hours and ban irresponsible drink promotions.

The government's response to tackle the problem is expected soon, in the shape of a Youth Alcohol Action Plan. Trailed in The Children's Plan, this package of measures will include moves to tackle low price sales, explore ways of deterring young people from purchasing alcohol and consider further action on alcohol advertising. It also promises to clamp down on parental alcohol misuse, with a raft of projects to intervene with families. Pricing, promotion, and parents indeed have a crucial role to play in shaping young drinking habits. So too, however, do celebrities, many of whom, like it or not, serve as role models for today's children and young people.