THE drink-drive limit should be lowered for under 25s in an attempt to save lives, a report by the government's official advisory body on drink and drugs will recommend today .

The study on the hazardous use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs by young people concludes the limit should be reduced to 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood from drivers between 17 and 25.

Last night, however, politicians and pressure groups distanced themselves from the highly-controversial proposals by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).

Its report says the drink-drive limit should stay at 80 milligrams in every 100 millilitres for adults compared with the legal 50 milligrams limit in most European countries.

"Drivers under the age of 25 are more likely than older drivers both to have road accidents and to fail alcohol tests when involved in accidents.

"Given the poorer driving skills and higher accident rates among inexperienced young drivers, we recommend that the government should give consideration to reducing the maximum blood alcohol rate. If successful, this could be extended to drivers of all ages, " the report says.

As drink-driving is a reserved matter, the proposal, if adopted, would apply across the UK.

Last night, however, Stephen Ladyman, UK Transport Minister, said there were no plans to change the drink-drive limit "for young drivers or anyone else".

"We will continue to work with the police and others to drive home the message that drinking and driving kills, " he said.

"We continue to believe that education, robust enforcement and tough penalties are the most effective ways of persuading people not to drink and drive."

Isobel Brydie, chairman of Scid, the organisation which supports road crash victims, said they would not be in favour of a new lower drinkdrive limit just for under-25s.

"I think this would send out the wrong message. While we have never said the drink-drive limit should be zero we think it should be reduced overall. If under-25s' driving is worse then these are the people who have most recently passed their test. Perhaps we should look to see if the test is strict enough."

A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) said: "We support the reduction of the drink-drive limit across the board. Our constant advice is do not take a single drink if you intend to drive."

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said it would welcome a cut in the legal drinkdrive limit for drivers - but for all age groups.

A spokesman said: "We have campaigned for a long time for the drink-drive limit to be reduced from 80 milligrams to 50 milligrams, not just for young drivers, but for all drivers."

Stewart Maxwell, SNP culture spokesman, said that while drink-driving among younger drivers should be tackled, the report sent out mixed message.

The report also found that Britain's children had some of the biggest cannabis, alcohol and tobacco problems in Europe.