UK Chief Medical Officers Publish Strict New Guidelines for Alcohol Consumption

The U.K. Chief Medical Officers have advised consumers to drink less
than 6 pints of beer per week under new guidelines for alcoholic beverage
intake. Revising previous standards that set weekly limits at 21 units of
alcohol for men and 14 units for women, the updated recommendations
urge all consumers to imbibe fewer than 14 units weekly and warn that
drinking even a moderate amount of beer, wine or spirits on a regular
basis allegedly raises the risk of developing certain cancers. They also
caution individuals to spread consumption over three or more days
instead of engaging in “binge” drinking sessions.

“Drinking any level of alcohol regularly carries a health risk for anyone,
but if men and women limit their intake to no more than 14 units a week
it keeps the risk of illness like cancer and liver disease low,” said Chief
Medical Officer of England Sally Davies in a January 8, 2016, press
release. “What we are aiming to do with these guidelines is give the
public the latest and most up to date scientific information so that they
can make informed decisions about their own drinking and the level of
risk they are prepared to take.”

Meanwhile, a January 13 editorial published in Nature describes the
new guidelines as “a sound example of evidence-based policymaking,”
calling out Britain’s “curious relationship with alcohol” and praising
David Bowie for his decision to forgo alcohol in his later years. As the
article concludes, “The statement that there is no ‘safe’ level of alcohol
consumption is a solid one… And—contrary to the legion of newspaper
stories—the minor health benefits of drinking are realized only by women
over the age of 55, and then only at very low consumption levels…
Decades hence, society may look back at today’s acceptance and even
celebration of alcohol and shake its collective head in the same way that
we now view the acceptance of tobacco smoking, or the use of opium as a
tonic.”

Issue 590