Drinking every day and consuming about four bottles of wine or 21 cans of beer a week is good for your health and will help you live longer, according to an 18-month British Government-backed review of medical evidence. Similar research in Australia and elsewhere indicates that light alcohol drinking is associated with less against heart disease, certain types of stroke, and gallstones. The new British report, however, asserts that existing safe drinking limits are way too low.
The trouble with this report is that, even if true, it is likely to be misinterpreted … especially in the lead-up to Christmas. The report stresses that the safe weekly levels are only safe if drunk in small doses throughout the week and that drinking the allowance in one or two binges is definitely unsafe. But it is likely to give false comfort to moderate and high drinkers. In any event, people are notorious for under-reporting the amount they drink.
Moreover, there is the question of other effects of alcohol … other than on long-term health. Even moderate amounts affect co-ordination and concentration and thereby safety and capacity at work and elsewhere. It also affects social intercourse … sometimes for the better, but often for the worse.
Britain’s Health Minister Stephen Dorrell announced that safe drinking limits would be raised. It would be better if Australian authorities erred on the side of caution.