Paper fined over champagne 'ad'

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A French court has ruled that press articles about alcohol should be subject to advertising regulations that provide for health warnings.

The ruling came in a case brought by a state-sponsored association against a Paris daily that published an feature on "The triumph of champagne".

The paper, Le Parisien, argued that it was a "strictly editorial" piece.

But the court has ordered the paper's publisher to pay the association 5,000 euros (Â£3,727) in damages.

The National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction had taken the paper to court to challenge the December 2005 article.

It included reviews of various brands, with sub-headings such as "Champagne, the uncontested star of parties".

The court ruled that the piece should have contained the mandatory warning included in adverts that "alcohol abuse is a health hazard".