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See Also
Alcohol Main Page Alcohol Information Related Articles : Alcohol Units & Guidelines : Alcohol's Effects On The Brain (Why People Behave Differently After Alcohol) ::
New Government Guidelines For Drinking Alcohol Safely
Everyone needs to understand about alcohol, and make their own informed decisions. Currently around a quarter of the UK population drink more than the weekly recommended guidelines, and this can affect their health. There comes a point in most people's lives when they need to take stock of their relationship with alcohol before it affects their life.
So what are the sensible drinking guidelines? The Government's official guidelines have subtly changed over the years from a straight figure of a number of units per week, to a daily guide, as binge drinking was recognised to be an increasing problem.
The old guidelines -
- Up to 21 units a week for men
- Up to 14 units a week for women
The new guidelines -
- Maximum of 3-4 units a day for men
- Maximum of 2-3 units a day for women
- 2 alcohol free days after heavy drinking
- Continued consumption at the upper level is not advised
So what is a unit? Well actually it is 10ml of pure alcohol, but we have to work out for ourselves how much drink this 10ml is hidden in, and here are the usual guidelines -
- 1/2 pint of 3.5% beer, lager or cider
- 1 small (125ml) glass of 9% wine
- 1 (25ml) pub measure of 40% spirit
1 in 5 people who drink will have a major alcohol problem in their life.
The trouble is, these measures are out of date because many drinks have got stronger.
- Many bottled beers are 4-5%, continental lagers are closer to 5%, while extra strong lagers can be up to 9%
- Who uses small wine glasses now? Certainly not pubs, and probably not at home either. Plus most wines are now 11-13%
- Many pubs now serve 35ml measures of spirits as standard, and some pubs serve doubles unless you specially ask for a single measure
- A 330ml bottle of alcopop at 5% is 1.7 units
So we are all drinking more than we think, because we don't convert the old guidelines into the real life drinks we're drinking now.
The Problem With The Guidelines
The scientific basis for these guidelines on alcohol is almost non existent, even though it has been published as Government health guidelines in expert reports in 1987 ('A Great and Growing Evil: The Medical Consequences of Alcohol Abuse' by the Royal College of Physicians) and repeated in 1995 (Department of Health. Sensible Drinking).
The health benefits of moderate drinking have also been questioned, which link moderate alcohol consumption with a lower risk of heart attacks. Such a benefit may only be small, and possibly restricted to middle-aged men and post-menopausal women.
The problems caused by alcohol continue to be all too real, though. The increased incidence of liver disease has been linked with binge drinking, and this must be seriously considered, as well as the huge social problems caused by alcohol.
References
How ‘safe drinking’ experts let a bottle or two go to their heads -The Times, October 20 2007.
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