Public health minister Anne Milton has told the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee that the detrimental effects of alcohol are being ignored by large numbers of drinkers.  The minister, who is also a former nurse, was taking part in ongoing discussions with the committee who are investigating guidelines on safe drinking levels.

The MP for Guilford is of the opinion that the message from the government on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption are being ignored - ”I think [the guidelines] have an impact in as much as we know that the first step in changing behaviour is people being aware of the harm it can cause,” She further added ”I still think that whereas people accept the harm that smoking causes, they accept the problems being overweight causes, there is still some issue about accepting the harm that alcohol causes.

The government’s new alcohol strategy is due by early 2012 and is expected to include details of measures not only taken already but future plans.  This is likely to include details on alcohol pricing.

At present guidelines state men should consume no more than 3-4 units a day and women not to drink more than 2-3 units a day. These guidelines are being reviewed by the Commons Science and Technology Committee.  Their role is to review the medical and scientific evidence behind the current guidelines.

One of the recommendations that has already come from the review is that there should be two types of limit.  One should advise how much can be consumed safely consumed on average, the other to advise how many units should not be surpassed. Experts agree that guidelines need to be simplified and that there should be no increase in the limits despite the fact that other European countries have limits that are higher.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, Royal College of Physicians special adviser on alcohol, and chairman of Alcohol Health Alliance UK has told the committee ”As someone who still looks after people with liver disease, and with hospital admissions rising, I think that any recommendation to increase limits would add to the tide of harm that we are seeing in our hospitals every day.”

Research carried out by UK thinktank Demos has made a significant link between parenting style and children’s attitude to alcohol. The report called “Under the Influence” was based on a study involving 15′000 children and found that :

* Bad parenting at age 10 makes the child twice as likely to drink excessively at age 34

* Bad parenting at age 16 makes the child over eight times more likely to drink excessively at that age (16)

* Bad parenting at age 16 makes the child over twice as likely to drink excessively at age 34

The report recommended that “tough love” was the best solution in the long term.  This involves a parent/guardian demonstrating a combination of  love, warmth and attachment in early years followed by strict discipline in teenage years.  This approach was found by the study to be the most effective in producing a healthy attitude to alcohol.

Government health experts recommend that women shouldn’t regularly drink more than two to three units a day.  A new European study into binge drinking shows that not only are women in the UK binge drinking more than our European counterparts but are also as likely to binge as men. The research found that 8% of British women regularly binge drink.

A binge is considered to be drinking twice the recommended daily guideline, 6 units for women.  By doing this on a regular basis it can have a significant effect on the heart and liver in comparison to spreading the same amount of alcohol over several days.

Commenting on the study Professor Mark Bellis from Liverpool’s John Moores University said: “People don’t realise the dangers associated with bingeing.”

A further concern is that the Oxford Medical Journal - Alcohol and Alcoholism, has also reported that Britons were more likely to progress from binge drinkers to being classified as heavy drinkers.

A survey carried out by The Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that 20% of  13-16 year olds questioned admitted to having got drunk by the time they were 14.  The figure rose to 50% by the age of 16.

Peer pressure from friends was given as a reason for drinking however researchers for the Ipsos Mori poll also found that a significant factor was poor parental supervison.  The survey found that teens who see their parents drunk are more likely to mimic this behaviour and drink drink excessively themselves.

The study involved a survey of 5,700 teenagers aged 13-16  in schools in England.