OFFICIAL guidance on how much alcohol is safe to consumer per day is unrealistic and largely ignored by drinkers because it has little relevance to their habits, according to a new report part-authored by Scots researchers.
The study, the first of its kind, explored how drinkers make sense of the current UK drinking guidelines which suggest men should not regularly exceed three to four units of alcohol a day, while women should not regularly drink more than two to three units daily.
According to the 2013 Scottish Health Survey, adults in Scotland drink an average of 10.1 units of alcohol per week. Ten units is roughly the equivalent of a bottle of wine or four pints of beer.
But the research from the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, which includes Stirling’s Institute for Social Marketing and the University of Sheffield’s School of Health and Related Research said the guidelines do not take into account the fact that in the UK, many people go for days without consuming alcohol before binging at the weekend.
The results also revealed that people think the recommended quantities of drink are unrealistic, as they do not recognise that many people are motivated to drink to get drunk.
The researchers conducted focus groups in northern England and Scotland to see how the current guidelines were perceived by people aged between 19 and 65 years old and from varied socio-economic backgrounds.
They found that participants preferred the current Australian and Canadian guidelines, which include separate advice for regular drinking and for single occasion drinking, which were regarded as more relevant and flexible to occasional drinkers.
The report said that while participants did regulate their drinking, this was usually down to practical issues such as needing to go to work or having childcare responsibilities, rather than health concerns or due to guidance.
Presenting the guidelines in units was also seen as "neither meaningful nor helpful" as the majority of people measure their intake in the number of drinks or containers such as bottles, glasses or pints they consume.
Elaine Hindal, chief executive at alcohol education charity Drinkaware, said their own research confirmed when people do drink they usually do not keep an eye on how many units they are drinking as the guidelines were complicated.
She said: "It’s not just that most people don’t know the guidelines, it’s that they don’t know how to apply them to the drink in front of them.”
Linda Bauld, professor of health policy at the University of Stirling said: “Both policy makers and health professionals may find the research results useful in considering how people interpret current guidelines and any place these guidelines may have in providing information to advise people about alcohol consumption."
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