Public health experts have called for a ban on alcohol advertising in the UK in light of new research that claims the industry’s marketing practices encourage young people to drink.

Studies into the impact of alcohol advertising around the world found that marketing practices often seemed to breach the industry’s own voluntary codes of practice, which in any case were not sufficient to protect children.

“It is clear that self-regulation is not working and we welcome calls for greater action from governments to protect children from exposure to alcohol marketing,” said Prof Sir Ian Gilmore, chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA), an umbrella group of more than 40 UK health NGOs, including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

“We know that alcohol marketing contains content and messages that appeal to children, and that due to exposure to this advertising, children drink more, and start drinking at an earlier age.”

The call comes despite recent data showing that levels of youth drinking in the UK are the lowest on record, with only about 17% of children aged eight to 15 admitting to ever drinking alcohol.

AB Inbev and Diageo, two of the world’s biggest alcoholic drinks makers, have reported ploughing as much of 15% of their annual global sales back into marketing, amounting to $7bn (£5.75bn) and £1.6bn respectively. The new research, published on Tuesday in the journal Addiction, investigated the techniques of alcohol marketing and their effects on young people.

The findings of the 14 studies included claims that marketing practices around the 2014 Fifa World Cup appeared to breach voluntary codes of practice, that young people were increasingly exposed to alcohol marketing through social media, and that much of the marketing included content likely to appeal to young people.

The lead editor, Prof Thomas Babor from the University of Connecticut, said: “No other legal product with such potential for harm is as widely promoted and advertised in the world as alcohol. These papers provide a wealth of information to support governments in their efforts to protect children and other vulnerable populations from exposure to alcohol marketing.”

In the UK, advertising for alcoholic drinks follows a code enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority, while the packaging and branding of the products is subject to self-regulation. One recent drinks advert judged to be in breach of standards was a promotional film for Captain Morgan rum featuring a raucous party aboard a sailing ship, which was banned for implying alcohol can make you more confident.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A man walks past an advert for Captain Morgan rum at the offices of Diageo in London. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Ian Hamilton, a specialist in problem drug use at the University of York, who was not involved in any of the Addiction papers, said alcohol marketing had found ways to evade statutory limits, particularly on social media and through endorsements of music and sporting events.

“Some of the messages are quite subtle, but they are persistent,” he said. “So this idea that alcohol is necessary for social success, or is both a stimulant as well as a sedative, that it removes sexual inhibition, that it improves – bizarrely – your sporting and mental abilities.

“Of course, the way they do it is they don’t say go and buy Carlsberg, but they’ll do endorsed interviews with celebrities or they’ll offer free music downloads or notices of events, so they do it in quite subtle and clever ways.”

A spokesperson for the AHA said while a comprehensive ban – similar to one in place in Norway – was the ultimate aim, in the meantime the organisation would like to see an interim solution that began with stopping sports sponsorship, introducing a watershed for alcohol adverts on television, and restricting cinema adverts so that they could be shown only before 18 certificate films.

Such a partial ban would still allow adverts in newspapers, billboards and radio, but would restrict them to providing basic information including a product’s origin, strength and production method, the spokesman suggested. Such a framework would be far stronger than the current ASA code of practice, which only stipulates what cannot be included in an advert.

“Tighter alcohol marketing regulation in the UK, without industry involvement, is desirable, achievable and effective,” said Paul Lincoln, the chief executive of UK Health Forum, which is a member of the AHA.

The claims and recommendations were disputed by the alcohol industry. Dave Roberts, the director general of the Alcohol Information Partnership, an industry-funded group, said levels of underage and harmful drinking had been falling year on year in the UK.

He said: “Official data shows the vast majority of people drink in moderation and in a convivial manner. A self-regulatory framework and a partnership approach have clearly been working.

Children whose parents give them sips of alcohol 'more likely' to drink as teens Read more

“The best way to reduce alcohol-related harm is to target programmes and policies at harmful drinkers. Instead of restricting companies’ freedom to operate and compete it would be better for government to focus on understanding what has worked so well over the past decade and encourage more of the same. Where there are pockets of harm, intervention should be directed towards those communities or age groups.”

Hamilton also warned that a blanket ban on alcohol advertising could be seen as “taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut”, with the danger that such a policy could give drinking a kind of outlaw prestige that might increase its appeal to some.

But, he added, a similar policy on tobacco advertising had apparently proved successful in diminishing the appeal of smoking. “I think the state does have some kind of responsibility,” Hamilton said. “We can’t have do-it-yourself regulation by industry whose prime motive is to find the next generation of consumers.”

