Commons enquiry into safe alcohol limits announced

Monday 25 July 2011

The Commons Select Committee for Science Technology has announced an enquiry into the government’s health guidelines on alcohol consumption.

The enquiry will look into the evidence base for the recommended safe drinking limits, and how effective the government has been in communicating health messages around alcohol.

Alcohol Concern said:

“We welcome the new enquiry by the Science and Technology commons select committee looking at government guidance on healthy alcohol intake, especially in its aim to strengthen the evidence base and ensure that guidance is firmly based on scientific findings.”  

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Binge drinking shown to affect memory skills in teen girls

Saturday 16 July 2011

A study carried out in California has found that young women’s brains are particularly vulnerable from harm caused by heavy drinking because they develop earlier than men’s.

Using MRI scans, the researchers found that brain activation in several areas was adversly affected, which could be detrimental to concentration, logical thinking and reasoning. Alcohol’s effect on hormone levels and women’s slower metabolism may also be causes.

Don Shenker, CEO of Alcohol Concern said:  

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Minimum pricing moves closer

Friday 08 July 2011

As local authorities in Greater Manchester draft bylaws to introduce minimum pricing of alcohol, the Scottish Parliament moves to introduce a bill that would establish minimum pricing across Scotland.

Although there is still resistance to minimum pricing by drinks manufacturers, there are also signs that the campaign for the drinks industry and retailers to be more socially responsible about alcohol is having some effect, with Heineken reducing the strength of one of its brands and Asda removing alcohol promotions from the front of its stores.

Read more (Guardian Healthcare Network).  

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Alcohol damages DNA of unborn children beyond repair

Friday 08 July 2011

Study shows how binge drinking builds up toxins which destroy the body’s natural defences protecting DNA against damage.

The study by the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge and published in the journal Nature reveals for the first time the molecular processes causing recognised alcohol-related problems such as foetal-alcohol syndrome and some cancers.

Read more (The Independent).

Read more (NHS Choices).

Read more (Medical Research Council).

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Wine alcohol content systematically understated

Wednesday 06 July 2011

A 16-year study of 129,000 European and new world wines found that 57 per cent had a higher alcohol content than that stated on the label.

The study, published by the American Association of Wine Economists, showed that the mislabelling understated the alcohol content of stronger wines by an average of half a per cent. Winemakers admitted that this understatement (which is within the legal margin for error) was done intentionally, because they felt that wines well over 13 per cent alcohol were less saleable in some markets.  

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