UK mens weekly alcohol limit now one of the lowest

Dame Sally Davies is the Chief Medical Officer for England and she advised last week that if men and women limit their intake to no more than 14 units a week it can help keep the risk of illness like cancer and liver disease low. The new 14-unit recommended maximum is equivalent to a little more than nine small 125ml glasses of wine, 14 single measures of spirits or seven pints of lager or beer. For women the limit is unchanged, but for men it drops from 21 units. This makes the UK guidelines for men one of the lowest among countries that issue a guidance. The alcohol industry lobby group cautioned that the UK was “breaking with established international precedent by recommending the same guidelines for men and women”. The rationale for having a lower limit for women than men has been based on women weighing less than men on average and having less water in their bodies, pound for pound.