New alcohol guidelines show increased Risk or No

Updated alcohol consumption guidelines give new advice on limits for men and pregnant women.

New proposed guidelines on alcohol, drawn up by the Chief Medical Officers of the UK, have been published today.

The expert group that produced the guidelines looked at the body of new evidence about the potential harms of alcohol that has emerged since the previous guidelines were published in 1995.

There are three main issues on which revised or new guidance is given:

• guidance on regular drinking
• guidance on single drinking sessions
• guidance on drinking in pregnancy

Regular drinking

The guidance advises that:

• to keep health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level you are safest not regularly drinking more than 14 units per week – 14 units is equivalent to a bottle and a half of wine or five pints of export-type lager (5% a bv) over the course of a week – this applies to both men and women
• if you do drink as much as 14 units per week, it is best to spread this evenly over three days or more
• if you have one or two heavy drinking sessions, you increase your risks of death from long-term illnesses and from accidents and injuries
• the risk of developing a range of illnesses (including, for example, cancers of the mouth, throat and breast) increases with any amount you drink on a regular basis
• if you wish to cut down the amount you're drinking, a good way to achieve this is to have several alcohol-free days each week

Single drinking sessions

The new proposed guidelines also look at the potential risks of single drinking sessions, which can include accidents resulting in injury (causing death in some cases), misjudging risky situations, and losing self-control.

You can reduce these risks by:

• limiting the total amount of alcohol you drink on any occasion
• drinking more slowly, drinking with food, and alternating alcoholic drinks with water
• avoiding risky places and activities, making sure you have people you know around, and ensuring you can get home safely

Some groups of people are more likely to be affected by alcohol and should be more careful of their level of drinking. These include:

• young adults
• older people
• those with low body weight
• those with other health problems
• those on medicines or other drugs
  

• Drinking and pregnancy

         The guidelines recommend that:

• if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to keep risks to your baby to a minimum
• drinking in pregnancy can lead to long-term harm to the baby, with the more you drink the greater the risk

If you are worried about how much you have been drinking when pregnant, talk to your doctor or midwife.