An alcohol and drug rehabilitation expert is calling for a ban on alcohol advertising in winter over fears that the dreary weather will make people more inclined towards excessive drinking. 

Dr Peter McCann, medical advisor to Castle Craig Hospital, a rehabilitation clinic in the Scottish Borders, said there was evidence of a 'devastating' link between exposure to sunlight, temperatures and alcohol consumption, the Herald Scotland newspaper reports.

He said lawmakers should 'strongly' consider changing advertising regulations to impose greater restrictions on alcohol-related adverts during the winter months.  

In addition to tougher advertising regulations, he also suggested stricter laws on alcohol pricing. 

Dr McCann is one of the contributors to a new report by researchers in Pittsburgh, US, that established a link between the climate and rates of binge drinking and liver disease.

The study looked at data on 193 countries from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organisation, and found that those who drank more heavily tended to live in colder climates with less sunlight. 

'We now have new evidence that the weather, and in particular the temperature and amount of sunlight that we are exposed to, has a strong influence on how much alcohol we consume,' said Dr McCann.

'Furthermore this weather-related alcohol consumption is directly linked to our chances of developing the most dangerous form of liver disease - cirrhosis - which can ultimately end in liver failure and death.'

Senior author Ramon Bataller, associate director of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Centre, added: 'This is the first study that systematically demonstrates that worldwide and in America, in colder areas and areas with less sun, you have more drinking and more alcoholic cirrhosis.'

The call came on the same day as health experts gathered for a WHO summit in Edinburgh on alcohol consumption across Europe. 

The summit heard  how minimum pricing introduced in Russia in 2010 has significantly reduced alcohol-related harm, although it is still too early to gauge the impact of similar measures rolled out in Scotland recently.