THE legal drinking age should be lifted to 25 to stop young people becoming addicted to alcohol and limit the violence associated with drunkenness, the head of the nation's peak medical organisation says.

AMA president Dr Steve Hambleton said the human brain was still developing until the age of 25 and exposure to alcohol earlier could change a person's addictive potential.

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"We know the human brain does not stop developing at 18 or 21 - its actually 25 - so if we start digging out the evidence about when people should be exposed to alcohol it's actually 25 years of age, not 18," he said.

The call came as a summit of 70 doctors, academics and public health organisations in Canberra yesterday called for new regulations to control alcohol advertising aimed at young people and ban alcohol sponsorship of sport.

The conference was told Tim Tams and chips were being laced with alcohol flavouring, children taking part in life-saving courses were being dressed in hats and towels covered with alcohol labels, and youngsters were becoming "friends" with the Bundy bear and other alcohol websites.

A spokesman for the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia said none of the alcohol-flavoured foodstuffs would taste of alcohol "because alcohol is flavourless" and denied the industry was trying to build brand loyalty among children.

The Wine Federation of Australia said it was "surprised and concerned" that the AMA held a summit on alcohol advertising without inviting anyone involved with it. The Brewers Association said it did not support raising the drinking age to 25.

Prof Toumbourou said research showed that when young people began drinking in their teens they developed a dose tolerance and were able to drink more alcohol without feeling drunk.

A spokesman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said the industry codes of practice for commercial radio and television were due to be reviewed next year.

Originally published as Call to lift legal drinking age to 25