SIXTEEN-year-olds could be banned from buying alcohol-free beer and wine under Labour plans – but still be able to vote.
Health minister Ashley Dalton revealed no- and low-alcohol drinks could soon face the same age rules as normal booze.
She said the move, part of the NHS 10-Year Plan, would mean 16- and 17-year-olds turned away at the till – even though many NoLo drinks contain less alcohol than a banana.
Answering a parliamentary question, she said: “One of the first steps will be to explore raising the upper alcohol limit for drinks labelled as alcohol-free to 0.5 PER CENT alcohol by volume (ABV) from 0.05 per cent ABV, aligning with international standards.
“At the same time, we will explore measures to regulate access to no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) products in line with other alcoholic beverages, including prohibiting sales to individuals under the age of 18 years old.”
The Tories last night blasted the move as a nanny-state crusade.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith raged: “It beggars belief that Labour would lower the voting age to 16 whilst banning them from buying non-alcoholic drinks at the same time. It is utterly absurd.
“They can apparently be trusted to choose who governs our country for five years but not to purchase a cold drink from a corner shop.
“Labour need to focus on the job in hand and cut their own out of control spending, not start a pointless war on cola.”
Labour has also moved to prevent under-age people from vaping.
Last year, Labour Ministers were considering whether to keep plans drawn up by Rishi Sunak to outlaw single-use vapes.
Sir Keir vowed in his election manifesto to prevent vape companies using such branding that appeals to children.
Lucy Powell said Labour wanted to tackle the “scourge of vaping”.
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