This won\’t surprise those with my level of cynicism:
Guidelines on safe alcohol consumption limits that have shaped health policy in Britain for 20 years were “plucked out of the air” as an “intelligent guess”.
The Times reveals today that the recommended weekly drinking limits of 21 units of alcohol for men and 14 for women, first introduced in 1987 and still in use today, had no firm scientific basis whatsoever.
An "intelligent guess by a committee" apparently. Some truth about booze:
One found that men drinking between 21 and 30 units of alcohol a week had the lowest mortality rate in Britain. Another concluded that a man would have to drink 63 units a week, or a bottle of wine a day, to face the same risk of death as a teetotaller.
Yes, of course alcohol can be dangerous. Depending upon how the rugby goes, tonight\’s consumption could even be so. But isn\’t it lovely the way we\’ve been lied to over what is a dangerous level of consumption?
Add it to the list of made up “safe” limits:
BMI of 25
Speed limit of 20mph
Salt 6g
Yeah, and don’t swim after eating or you’ll die.
government tells us lies all the time, stopping distances for cars are miles from reality based on 1960’s cars…
Personally I dont believe all the global warming stuff either – though it would pay to be careful in case..
Best one I heard recently was ‘ In wales, after the smoking ban, heart attacks dropped 13% between 3 and 6 months after…’ – true I’m sure, but neglects to mention the 12% increase in months 0 to 3 – resulting in a drop of virtually nil…