Will new alcohol guidelines change your habits?

The new guidelines, which are the first since 1995, recommend it is safest not to drink more than 14 units per week to keep health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level.

“Although the risk of harm to the baby is low if they have drank small amounts of alcohol before becoming aware of the pregnancy, there is no “safe” level of alcohol to drink when you are pregnant”.

The new guidelines on alcohol intake by the United Kingdom government suggests that both men and women should regularly drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week, CNN reports.

New guidelines say men should not drink more than 14 units of alcohol each week, the same level as for women.

The UK’s chief medical officers stressed the fact that even lower amounts still carries a low risk of liver disease or cancer, and other dangers like violence, drowning, and injuries from falls and motor vehicle crashes.

Sally Davies, the chief medical officer for England, also scoffed at the notion that a single glass of wine each day can benefit health, calling it an “old wives’ tale”. While most studies focus on the effects of alcohol consumed over weeks or months, the committee nonetheless suggests limiting levels of drunkenness on any one occasion.

Recommended drinking limits for British men have been sharply reduced, prompting health campaigners in Ireland to demand a similar reduction.

The guidelines, based on findings of research worldwide, aim to decrease the risk of mortality from cancers and other diseases.

For years men have been advised to drink no more than 21 units each week, or about a pint-and-a-half per day, while women have been advised to drink no more than 14 units a week.

Dame Sally also said that each year, over 20,000 of people in the United Kingdom have a diagnosis of cancer made consequent on drinking alcohol.

The advice for pregnant women is to not drink any alcohol at all.

The 14-unit limit has been chosen because at that point, your drinking leads to a 1% risk of dying from alcohol-related causes.

There’s some level of risk attached to any level of alcohol consumption, according to the expert group that informed the guidelines.

“We all know there is a big problem with excessive alcohol consumption in this country, there’s a problem with a binge-drinking mentality”, said Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UKIP party who is often pictured in a pub with a pint of beer.

The guidelines also say you shouldn’t store up your allowance for one or two days, but spread them over three or more days.