Britain issues stricter guidelines on drinking

LONDON • Guidelines on alcohol intake for men have been slashed by a third in new advice issued by Britain's chief medical officer yesterday.

Men are now being told they should drink only 14 units of alcohol a week, the same as for women and down from the previous level of 21 units. The recommended amount is the equivalent of six pints of beer or seven glasses of wine.

The advice, the first update in 20 years, also says people should take several days off drinking every week. It warns that regularly drinking any amount of alcohol increases the risk of developing cancer.

Pregnant women are now being told they should avoid alcohol completely. Previously, they were advised to limit themselves to only one or two units once or twice a week.

"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," said Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies.

Officials say the full extent of the correlation between alcohol and cancer was not properly understood when the previous public health guidelines were issued in 1995.

Britain has a higher than average level of alcohol consumption, according to figures from the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation group of rich nations.

The charity Alcohol Concern says that more than nine million people in England drink more than the recommended daily limit out of a population of about 54 million. It says there were nearly 6,500 alcohol-related deaths in England in 2012.

There is fierce debate in Britain over whether to bring in a minimum price for alcohol in a bid to get rid of the cheapest drinks and discourage alcohol abuse. Only the devolved government in Scotland has so far introduced such legislation.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 09, 2016, with the headline Britain issues stricter guidelines on drinking. Subscribe