review of drinking guidelines in the uk
TRANSCRIPT
THE 2016 UK CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICERS’
DRINKING GUIDELINES
Dr Peter Rice, Chair, Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems.
Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist, NHS Tayside
Alcohol Policy Advisor, Royal College of Psychiatrists.
HISTORY OF UK GUIDELINES (10mls = 8g = 1 unit)
1984 Health Education Council “safe” 180/90mls per wk
“Too much” 560/350mls
1986 Royal Colleges 210/140mls
1995 UK Government 20-40 mls daily
Royal Colleges guidance unchanged
2012 UK Parliament Science Committee called for review
2016 UK Chief Medical Officers recommendations.
KEY BACKGROUND PAPERS
Search CMO Alcohol Guidelines ; Supporting evidence
Lifetime mortality risk by pattern and gender
Relative risk (Canada) and Absolute risk (Australian) modelling
Some risk relationships...
ISCHAEMIC HEART DISEASE
MORTALITY TRENDS IN SCOTLAND - MEN
Shipton GCPH 2014
MORTALITY TRENDS IN SCOTLAND - WOMEN
Shipton GCPH 2014
PROTECTIVE EFFECTS Any effect confined to older age groups Selection bias (example, in older age drinkers may be wealthier than non-drinkers) UK Mortality from Ischaemic Heart Disease is falling Peak of protective effects are at very low level of consumption.
A MORE COMPLEX MESSAGE
“UNITS” and THE PUBLIC
Sir David Spiegelhalter, Professor of Public Risk Understanding, University of Cambridge His Blog and his Graph
“These guidelines define
‘low-risk’ drinking as giving
you less than a 1% chance
of dying from an alcohol-
related condition. So
should we feel OK about
risks of this level? An hour
of TV watching a day, or a
bacon sandwich a couple
of times a week, is more
dangerous to your long-
term health. In contrast, an
average driver faces much
less than this lifetime risk
from a car accident. It all
seems to come down to
what pleasure you get from
moderate drinking.”
Daily Telegraph
WHY IS THERE EQUALISATION OF GUIDANCE FOR
MEN AND WOMEN ?
This presentation was produced for a meeting organized within Joint Action on Reducing Alcohol Related Harm (RARHA) which has received funding from the European Union, in the framework of the
Health Programme (2008-2013).
The content of this presentation represents the views of the author/s and it is their sole responsibility; it can in no way be taken
to reflect the views of the European Commission or of the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Executive Agency do not accept responsibility for any use that
may be made of the information it contains.