Underage drinkers getting 'smashed' on cider that 'looks and tastes' like soft drink

A flavoured alcohol that offers eight standard drinks for as cheap as $4 could pose a serious risk of underage drinkers, experts are warning.

Little Fat Lamb, a cider contains an alcoholic volume of eight percent, presents itself as a "brewed" alcoholic beverage on the label – but fails to mention it is in fact a cider, Fairfax Media reports.

The most popular 1.25-litre bottle contains more standard drinks than a bottle of wine.

Available in cola, ginger, berry, lemon, pear, strawberry and lime, tropical and apple flavours, the drink comes packaged in bottles resembling those used for soft drinks. It's this seemingly innocuous presentation that has some experts up in arms.

“It's sold in a bottle that looks like soft drink and it tastes like soft drink,” VicHealth's principal program officer for alcohol Maya Rivis told Fairfax Media.

“Young kids who are inexperienced around alcohol drink it very quickly and before they know it they're in a lot of trouble.”

Alcohol promotion researcher Dr Nicholas Carah has compared it to an old sparkling wine Passion Pop.

"It was just a cheap drink to get real loaded on," he said.

One girl has told Fairfax Media she drinks Little Fat Lamb, "Because it's cheap and it gets me smashed".

A survey conducted in 2014 has revealed cider's popularity among Australian schoolgirls has grown from one percent in 2008 to nine percent six years later.

As a cider, Little Fat Lamb is not subject to the 70 percent tax increase on pre-mixed "alcopop" drinks introduced by former prime minister Kevin Rudd in 2008.

Instead it receives the Wine Equalisation Tax – 29 percent of the drink's wholesale price, making it comparatively inexpensive.

Ms Rivis believes raising the floor price will serve as a "real deterrent".

"It's like tobacco, increase the price and people will reduce the amount they drink," she said.

Cider recently emerged as one of the alcohol industry's fastest growing drink, according to market researcher IBISWorld.

Little Fat Lamb in particular has been listed as being among the top 10 cider brands in early 2017, Fairfax Media reports.