Britons are being advised to not drink any alcohol owing to health risks, but realizing the futility of that suggestion the newly announced guidelines regarding consumption have been lowered significantly from those of twenty years past.
Surely you can’t take Britons, booze away
Britain needs its booze. Drinking is ingrained in its culture from the local pub to Henry IV’s friend and Shakespearean character Falstaff, alcohol is everywhere. Hell, just look at the lovely picture recently taken of Manchester on New Year’s Eve that went viral after being compared to a brilliant renaissance painting.
Despite the fact that numerous studies of suggested that moderate alcohol consumption is actually good for you, especially red wine, the Chief Medical Officer for England, Sally Davies, is having non of that.
“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 Davies.
Those numbers are quite unique as most countries have, as the UK did, different consumption suggestions for men and women. The guidelines outlined 20 years ago called for no more that 21 units for men and 14 for women. .
In a bit of hypocrisy a few years ago, Prime Minister David Cameron who is not afraid of a pint or two suggested a minimum charge for alcohol to cut down drinking but the plan was rejected, fairly out of hand, as it was hard to prove that this would make any difference.
Does Britain even drink that much?
In statistics released early last year, nearly 1 in 5 Britons never touch alcohol and frequent and binge drinking among the younger population have been on the decline for some time.
Now, the Chief Medical Officer for England is calling on its citizens to drink less than their European compatriots. Both Italy and France call for consumption of less than three units per day while Spain says go ahead and have four. This while the English are being asked to consume no more than two?
Time for the critics’ response
“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,” said Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs when asked to respond to the new guidelines.
“People deserve to get honest and accurate health advice from the Chief Medical Officer, not scaremongering,” he continued.
I’m sure I’m not alone in understanding the health concerns of my own drinking, but It’s fun and a shorter life with more fun is a choice I’ve made but thanks for the concern.
