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SCIENCEWednesday 13 January 2016

To Your Health:

Q&A on UK’s new drinking guidelines, alcohol link to cancer 

MARIA CHENG                      For women, the guidelines        A man walks by a wines and spirits shop in central London. British health officials say that drinking
AP Medical Writer                remain unchanged, rec-           any alcohol regularly increases the risk of cancer, in tough new guidelines that could be hard to
LONDON (AP) — Brit-              ommending no more than           swallow for a nation where having a pint is a hallowed tradition. In recommendations released
ish health officials say drink-  14 units a week.                 on Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, Britain’s Chief Medical Officer advised both men and women not to drink
ing alcohol regularly in-        Men, however, had previ-         any more than 14 units of alcohol, or about six pints of beer a week _ that still carries a low risk of
creases the risk of cancer.      ously been told they could       liver disease or cancer.
And they’ve issued tough         drink up to 21 units a week.
new guidelines that could        That now drops to the same                                                                                                                      (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
prove hard to swallow in a       limit as for women. The
nation where having a pint       original guidance was pub-       sales and cheap alcohol         WITH OTHER COUNTRIES?             WHAT’S THE VIEW DOWN AT
is a hallowed tradition.         lished in 1995, before many      has fueled a rise in binge-     Each country measures             THE PUB?
Britain’s chief medical of-      links between alcohol and        drinking, which Prime Min-      alcohol consumption dif-          “This won’t change a
ficer says in recommenda-        cancer were detected.            ister David Cameron once        ferently. Brtiain’s guidelines    thing,” said David Evans,
tions published this week-       Friday’s updated guidance        declared a national scan-       are stricter than those of        an engineer enjoying a pint
end that men and women           clarifies advice to preg-        dal. Even the new guid-         other European countries          at a north London pub.
should not drink more than       nant women, recommend-           ance acknowledges that          in Europe, notably Ireland        He said he regularly ex-
14 units of alcohol — about      ing they avoid alcohol “as       people are unlikely to give     and Spain, but similar to U.S.    ceeds the new limit of
six pints of beer or four        a precaution.” The recom-        up drinking and does not        expert recommendations.           about six pints of beer a
large glasses of wine — per      mendations say “the risk of      call for abstinence.            According to American             week in a single day and
week, and consuming be-          harm to the baby is likely       To help Britons avoid binge     dietary guidelines, women         has no intention of chang-
low that amount still carries    to be low if a woman has         drinking, the government        should drink no more than         ing his drinking habits. “A
a low risk of liver disease or   drunk only small amounts         recommends that people          one drink a day and men           lot of people will let their
cancer.                          of alcohol before she knew       spread their drinking over      should have no more than          own body tell them what’s
Alcohol is a known carcin-       she was pregnant or during       at least three days a week.     two.                              right and what’s wrong,” he
ogen. In the United States,      pregnancy.”                      It warns that the risk of can-                                    said. U.K. Independence
experts estimate about           In the U.S., the Centers for     cers of the mouth, throat       WHAT ABOUT THOSE SUP-             Party leader Nigel Farage
3.5 percent of all cancer        Disease Control and Pre-         and breast increases with       POSED BENEFITS OF ALCO-           said the advice was “over
deaths are alcohol-relat-        vention says there is no         any amount drunk on a           HOL?                              the top” and called for a
ed. People who have more         known safe level of alcohol      more regular basis.             While some studies suggest        mass protest against such
than about four drinks daily     consumption for women            “This is not a crackdown on     that drinking moderate lev-       “nannying.”
run up to triple the risk of     who are trying to get preg-      alcohol,” said Dr. Niamh        els of red wine is good for       “We all know there is a big
contracting cancers of the       nant or already in pregnan-      Fitzgerald, a lecturer in al-   the heart, British officials say  problem with excessive al-
head and neck than non-          cy.                              cohol studies at the Uni-       that applies only to women        cohol consumption in this
drinkers. Here are questions                                      versity of Stirling, who was    over the age of 55, par-          country,” he told LBC radio.
and answers about the Brit-      WILL BRITONS GO TEETO-           not involved in drafting the    ticularly those who drink         “But frankly, if we choose
ish guidelines and their like-   TAL?                             government guidelines. “It      no more than about two            to enjoy a few drinks four
ly effect:                       Almost certainly not in a na-    is about supporting peo-        glasses a week. The British       or five nights a week after a
                                 tion known for its ales and      ple to make up their own        report said it “concluded         hard day at work, whether
WHAT’S NEW?                      its pubs. Lax control of retail  minds.”                         that there is no justification    it slightly shortens our lives
                                                                                                  for drinking for  health  rea-    or not, so what?”q
                                                                  HOW DOES THIS COMPARE           sons.”
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