There are no safe levels of Alcohol consumption ....

[vernon]

Now it seems that practically any level increases one's risk of serious illness

But to what degree? Everything carries risk. Dietary risk management could lead to some strange diets and lifestyles for the risk averse.

 

[MontyVeda]

I'd tend to agree with him although I'm not a health professional.

What I'm seeking to show is that the somewhat flippant attitude shown to this issue is not dissimilar to that shown to smoking health issues when the link first became clear

I have a book called Smokerama which 'celebrates' the heyday of smoking promotion and paraphernalia... some of the old adverts are great, with health professionals claiming that X brand of fags are far healthier than the others (in return for a generous fee, i guess). It's quite shocking really as for all my life, smoking has been popular, but frowned upon as we've all been well aware of the health risks posed. In the last few decades we've seen smoking commercials disappear from TV and billboards (even seeing characters smoking on screen in the recent And Then There Were None seemed a bit odd in this day and age). Maybe in thirty or forty years' time we'll look back on alcohol promotion and paraphernalia with the same romantic bemusement.

 

[Fab Foodie]

[QUOTE 4095258, member: 259"]To be honest, there are very few weeks I can manage that much gin. [/QUOTE]
Doesn't stop you trying though ....

 

[Fab Foodie]

This is where I was having difficulty. If the damage is already done, if the healthy limit is so far below the habitual limit, there's little incentive for stopping or following the guidelines, @Piemaster and @Hill Wimp seem to be following a similar logic. As such, it seems counterproductive. It's being framed as almost always being a risk, just like going out of your front door of a morning or, heaven forfend, risking a pedal on a Brompton.

I don't agree. Whether you have damage already there's no point in making it worst. Any reduction in alcohol consumption can only be benificial.

 

[Fab Foodie]

But to what degree? Everything carries risk. Dietary risk management could lead to some strange diets and lifestyles for the risk averse.

That may be true but conversely any reduction in Alcohol provides some kind of benifit so reduction is a no-brainer in that respect. The health issue in the UK is regarding the current level of unhealthy overconsumption so I don't have any issue with the advice and don't see in this case it will cause any rash side issues.

 

[MarkF]

There should be a fee charged to cover cost of Police, Ambulance and A&E for handling binge drinking and the likes. £200 a hit with installment payments made available. Have witnessed enough abuse hurled at our first responders that something has to give.

This is never going to work, folk don't go out intending to end up in A&E, things happen.........they take a wrong turn, make a wrong decision, one things leads to another and they end up in just their underpants in a cubicle in A&E. You can't fine people into being sensible, it won't stop people sticking things up their bums and cluttering up A&E.

I like working in A&E Fri/Sat nights, and it stops me drinking................

BTW There has never ever been a time that Brits drank sensibly, I don't think that will change. There was an invite to party on the Radiologists staff room door last summer, it ended with "You will get hammered, guaranteed"! These are educated young NHS professionals surrounded by healthy lifestyle information.

 

[Dayvo]

it won't stop people sticking things up their bums and cluttering up AR$E.

If it doesn't fit, don't force it!

 

[Arrowfoot]

This is never going to work, folk don't go out intending to end up in A&E, things happen.........they take a wrong turn, make a wrong decision, one things leads to another and they end up in just their underpants in a cubicle in A&E. You can't fine people into being sensible, it won't stop people sticking things up their bums and cluttering up A&E.

I like working in A&E Fri/Sat nights, and it stops me drinking................

What about hitting the repeat offenders - 1 strike and you are tagged with a fee. I am sure its only a tiny fraction of the population that create this burden. At the moment there is no disincentive.

 

[Arrowfoot]

I thought that this had already happened, with serial 999 callers being told they cannot have an ambulance.

These are cases where the Police and Ambulance crew are involved and sent to A&E. These are the ones that can't even zip up their pants, let alone dial a number and found on the street after a night of drinking.

I understand the numbers have grown over time and a strain on the system.

 

[vernon]

That may be true but conversely any reduction in Alcohol provides some kind of benifit so reduction is a no-brainer in that respect. The health issue in the UK is regarding the current level of unhealthy overconsumption so I don't have any issue with the advice and don't see in this case it will cause any rash side issues.

I'm not advocating ignoring the advice but I don't want to see the statement that, any alcohol intake is harmful, being misused/misrepresented.

The media shriek about the increased risks about a whole raft of dietary and medication side effects and quantifies them in a manner that grabs headlines but doesn't explain what the actual risks are.

For instance, a headline claiming a twenty fold increase in the chances of a particular ailment being caused by a particular lifestyle choice/medication side effect has impact but if the incidence of the ailment is one person per twenty million in folk not adopting that lifestyle/using that particular medication, folk get an inflated idea of the risks involved.

The numeracy of the population at large and, more specifically the press, needs to improve before folk can make informed decisions about risks.

 

[Davidc]

I've taken a look at the (web) published numbers, and it appears that drinking within these guidelines increases the risk of dying from all cancers from low to not quite as low. The risk of dying in a road 'accident' appears to be a bit lower than either.

My alcohol intake is lower than the guidelines except when anywhere near my brother or any of a few friends I only see occasionally, when I'm capable of a weeks worth in an evening, and my risk assessment for alcohol is that I'll Carry On As Before, and tell the government's Chief Medical Officer to go boil her head or a ruder equivalent

 

[Fab Foodie]

Unless you are Gazza, in which case get it over and done with.

That would be the 'BEST' way then ....

 

[vernon]

[ASJ ALERT]

That would be the 'BEST' way then ....

Indeed because Newcastle airport could use a name.

But not before getting to the front of the queue for a liver transplant of course, only fair.

[/ASJ ALERT]

No trampling please.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I'm not advocating ignoring the advice but I don't want to see the statement that, any alcohol intake is harmful, being misused/misrepresented.

The media shriek about the increased risks about a whole raft of dietary and medication side effects and quantifies them in a manner that grabs headlines but doesn't explain what the actual risks are.

For instance, a headline claiming a twenty fold increase in the chances of a particular ailment being caused by a particular lifestyle choice/medication side effect has impact but if the incidence of the ailment is one person per twenty million in folk not adopting that lifestyle/using that particular medication, folk get an inflated idea of the risks involved.

The numeracy of the population at large and, more specifically the press, needs to improve before folk can make informed decisions about risks.

I don't disagree with media bit or the lack of risk understanding by the general public. But in this case I think the science is pretty clear and just like smoking it's something that's not come out of the blue either. It just confirmation.

Alcohol is the most abused and misused product in everyday life, causing significant illness and unlike cigarettes for example a lot of collateral/societal damage. So anything that reduces alcohol consumption (like Cigarettes) is a very good thing for all. That doesn't mean we have to be puritanical or nanny state about it, just aware. There are few downsides to reduced consumption and anything that helps that is IMO a good thing.

 

[vernon]

Subtle is not written in block capital.

Written for the benefit of those who don't do subtle.