United Kingdom imposes tough guidelines on alcohol intake

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”.

The guidelines advise that it’s safest not to drink regularly more than 14 units per week, in order to keep health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level.

The risk of developing some alcohol-related cancers reduces over time when people stop drinking, but it can take many years to return to the levels found in people who have never drunk alcohol.

The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education has published an updated alcohol misuse distance learning programme to coincide with the new guidelines.

The guidance says pregnant women should avoid alcohol altogether as there is no evidence for a “safe” drinking level in pregnancy.

Earlier guidelines had said pregnant women should drink no more than one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week. While that doesn’t change anything for women, past recommendations had set limits for men at about nine glasses of wine or beer a week.

When publishing this research, the UK’s chief medical officers warned that no level of regular drinking is without risks, with even small to moderate amounts leading to risk of illness.

But, according to the new guidelines, the risk is less for people who drink within government guidelines. “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”, he said.

Everyone is warned against binge drinking and advised to limit their alcohol consumption, alternate drinks with water, and try to drink with food.

A UK Department of Health spokeswoman said: “We are the first country in Europe to do a full review of the evidence on alcohol in at least 10 years”.

For women, the guidelines remain unchanged, recommending no more than 14 units a week.

The committee says to spread the 14 units out, but to also avoid drinking for two consecutive days so the liver can fix the damage it sustains when processing alcohol.

Other advice, which the newspaper says “some might consider common sense”, includes a warning not to drink alcohol before climbing ladders.

Maria Catterick, from the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder support group, also welcomed the news and said: “All children deserve the best start in life and no alcohol from conception and throughout pregnancy is a great foundation to achieve that”.