A study has found that humour is commonly used to sell booze, prompting calls for stricter advertising regulations.

The George Institute for Global Health analysed more than 600 alcohol ads that had prompted complaints, and found that humour was the most common tactic.

The institute Head of Food Policy, Professor Simone Pettigrew, said the discovery is alarming because of which audiences humour most impacts.

“The biggest issue we have is that humour has been found to be something really attractive to kids,” she said.

“So one of the issues we have with alcohol advertising is the heavy use of humour, because we know how effective it is with kids.”

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