For years and years, men in the UK have been told they can drink more alcohol then woman, but now new guidelines are scrapping all that…
The recommended limit for blokes was three to four units a day, compared to two to three units for women, but now the Department of Health have issued a new statement stating that neither men or woman should consume more than 14 units over a week.
To put that into perspective, that’s about six pints of standard beer or seven glasses of wine a week.
These new guidelines for alcohol consumption have replaced previous advice on drinking which dates back to 1995.
The Department of Health says the links between alcohol and cancer were not fully understood back then and its new advice states that drinking any amount of alcohol increases the risk of a range of cancers.
They’re also urging those who like a pint or two to spread your allowance over three or more days, instead of having having it all in one night. Easier said then done…
Professor Mark Petticrew, Professor of Public Health Evaluation at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said:
This new guidance has been based on a wide range of new evidence from this country and overseas. We have reviewed all the evidence thoroughly and our guidance is firmly based on the science, but we also considered what is likely to be acceptable as a low risk level of drinking and the need to have a clear message.
The guidelines also go on to contradict the idea that a small amount of alcohol can be good for you (damn it), with the medical officers concluding that ‘there is no justification for drinking for health reasons’.
However, The Department of Health has come under scrutiny from some commentators. Speaking to The Telegraph, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Christopher Snowdon, says they’re scaremongering the public.
He said:
The change to the guidelines will turn hundreds of thousands of people into ‘hazardous drinkers’ overnight thereby reviving the moral panic about drinking in Britain and opening the door to yet more nanny state interventions. People deserve to get honest and accurate health advice from the Chief Medical Officer, not scaremongering.
Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, University of Cambridge, said that the guidelines were too cautious, adding that an hour of TV watching a day, or a bacon sandwich a couple of times a week, is more dangerous to your long-term health.
So no bacon, TV or booze? Fuck this, I’m off to the pub…
