Children younger than 15 | Not have any alcohol | According to new research

Children under 15 should not drink any alcohol, the Government will advise parents today.

Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government's chief medical officer, said the new advice was based on research which showed the serious damage drink could do to children's health.

And he warned that a 'massive number' of young people drank routinely in the UK.

He said: 'We have a third of a million 11-15 years old on a typical weekend drinking alcohol.

'That's a massive number and we've got to do something about it.'

Sir Liam told GMTV the new advice was aimed at clearing up confusion among parents about the issue.

'The information we got from surveying parents was that actually they are quite confused about the medical and health implications of children drinking alcohol.'

He said research said drink could seriously affect brain development in the young.

'We're trying to get the message across that children aged under 15 are still developing, their brains are developing, and drinking alcohol can do some quite serious damage.

'The Government guidelines also advise that children aged 15 to 17 should not drink without the supervision of a parent or carer.'

Sir Liam said research had shown the importance of the family in fostering healthy attitudes to alcohol in children.

'Families which draw clear boundaries, which establish values, which don't bring children into drink-fuelled environments, are families where children are more likely to grow up not drinking at all, or drinking responsibly,' he said.

The Government said the guidance, which is open to consultation and could be changed, was not about it being a nanny state.

It said it was wanted to 'empower' parents by giving them information to make good decisions concerning their children.

Sir Liam will say the guidance, to be launched by Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Health Secretary Alan Johnson later, draws on extensive medical research as well as evidence on the impact of alcohol on children and young people.

Such advice is the first ever produced for parents in England about the risks of young people drinking alcohol.

The guidance says that parents and their offspring should be aware that drinking, even at 15 or older, can be harmful to health and follows interviews with parents who said they wanted more information on alcohol and young people.

Figures show that by the time they are 15, most young people in the UK have drunk alcohol.

Around one in five 13-year-old says they drink at least every week and that figure doubles among 15-year-olds.

An estimated 630,000 children aged 11 to 17 in the UK drink more than once a week and around one in five 15-year-olds say they first got drunk when they were 13 or younger, according to Government figures.

By the age of 13, just over 20 per cent say they have been drunk at least twice, increasing to almost half of all 15-year-olds. Figures also show that the amount children drink has risen since 1990.

More than one in 10 per cent of boys and 12 per cent of girls aged 15 to 16 have been drunk at least six times in the last month.

Government evidence shows that children who drink are more likely to not use condoms, have sex at a young age, become pregnant and catch sexually transmitted infections.

Shoppers buying alcohol at the supermarket

Shoppers buying alcohol at the supermarket face a 'walk of shame' to a dedicated checkout counter.

The plan is being drawn up by ministers to curb Britain's growing binge-drinking culture.

Stores would have to create the 'alcohol-only' areas manned by specially-trained staff.

This would hopefully deter shoppers from making excessive purchases by putting them under the scrutiny of fellow customers.

And it would help catch those buying alcohol underage.

A senior Government source told the Daily Mail that ministers were convinced the easy availability of cut-price alcohol is causing young people, in particular, to drink to excess.

Leading stores have been attacked for selling lager at a cheaper price than bottled water.

'Having separate areas to sell alcohol will help us tackle this growing problem of young people getting tanked up on cheap supermarket beers and lagers,' said the source.

'We would also want to see specially-trained staff in these areas to make sure alcohol is not being bought by people who are underage.'

The move would bring Britain into line with countries such as Sweden, Norway and Finland, which have varying restrictions on alcohol sales and in some areas, only allow it to be sold at state-owned outlets.

Effectively, it would bring alcohol sales into line with tobacco sales in supermarkets.

Families doing a weekly shop would have to queue twice, once to purchase their groceries and again to purchase wine, beer and spirits.

Retailers are likely to be infuriated by the suggestion of dedicated check-out areas.

They will argue that it would cost tens of thousands of pounds in store refits and staff training, and would also inconvenience customers.

Critics might also claim Labour is stigmatising supermarkets to deflect the impact of its own relaxation of licensing laws to allow 24-hour drinking.

Ministers are expected to reject a system of minimum pricing for drink, with a fixed fee per unit of alcohol, which has been called for by some doctors.

However, they are considering a system of barcoding of alcohol products to ensure the point of sale can be quickly identified.

Stores such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's could be required to stamp a barcode on cans and bottles so police who detain underage drinkers know where their alcohol has come from.

Research backed by the Government has concluded that cheap supermarket deals are linked to binge drinking.

Experts from Sheffield University warned that cheap alcohol was fuelling rates of cancer and strokes, as well as helping to increase divorce rates.

The annual cost of treating people in hospital for alcohol-related problems has now reached £2.7billion. The Government also claims the drinks industry is failing to abide by its voluntary codes of conduct.

One study found that only 57 per cent of alcohol products contained details of the number of units they contained, and only 3 per cent warned pregnant women to avoid drinking.

Other moves being considered by the Government are a ban on pub promotions, such as free drinks offers to women, happy hours and the sale of cocktails with suggestive names such as Sex on the Beach.

The draft code of practice drawn up by the Home Office and the Department of Health also proposes cigarette-style health warnings about the dangers of alcohol for display in shops, bars and restaurants.