Safe Booze limit, complete rubbish it seems..

[R1Geezer]

http://www.timesonlin...nk/article2697975.ece
I just watched QI and they said that the lowest mortality rates are in those drinking 21-30 units and to have the same mortality as a teetotaller a man would have to drink 63 units! I managed to find the above Times article and it seems that is the case. Apparently they just made up the 21 limit! Why the subterfuge? Sqad, what's your take on this? My last drink was Saturday, all this abstaining is damaging my health, still, Friday tomorrow, cheers!

[pa___ul3]

erm, R1, I think you want to have a word with this fella who drinks 5 pints of stella and drives regularly because that takes the p155! Would you not feel the slightest bit guilty if you watched him walk out to his car and ended up killing someone!? Get some morals and grow some balls!

[jno]

so what limit is to be imposed, then? "Just stop drinking when you've had enough" is observed by many people but clearly isn't working.

If you're going to draw a line then it has to be somewhere, and there will always be people it doesn't suit; same for age of consent, voting age and so on.

If you're not going to draw a line, expect more road deaths.

[Quizmonster]

Quite, J! And the percentage of doctors who have addictions of one sort or another - alcohol being a major one - is quite frightening. If I accurately remember the figures from the last time the BMJ published findings, we shouldn't be too surprised to find in a practice of six one who fits the bill.

[woofgang]

allegedly Dino pretended a lot of the time....

[Quizmonster]

My "Quite,J!" referred to your earlier answer, not the one immediately above mine on this page.

[dzug2]

<For the general population I would advice....drink for pleasure and not for effect.>

But for many isn't the effect the pleasure?

[emmie]

a good friend who drank fairly heavily, got done for drink driving, and that was the following morning, he'd had a few bevies the night before and the alcohol was still swirling around in his bloodstream. I know plenty of people who do it. He was fined, and lost his licence for 12 months.

[LazyGun]

There is plenty of evidence showing the damage that alcohol consumption can do, both acute and chronic. It is also pretty well established that the greater the levels of alcohol consumption, the greater the health risks.

Controlling and moderating your alcohol intake is sensible advice for anyone - and given the drain on the public purse and hard pressed NHS resources that alcohol consumption represents, the Goverment are right to offer health advice.

I do agree the upper limits are kind of guesswork though - but they do represent a sensible guide, at least in my view.

[emmie]

sqad, perhaps the way to tackle the binge element is to hit them in the pocket. Christmas time they have had drunk tanks, not sure about other times, surely it would be cheaper in the long term to have them all year round, that way seriously ill people who end up in A&E, won't have to watch whilst these miscreants are dealt with. If the binge drinkers are picked up by police, take them to the drunk tank, once sober hit them with an on the spot fine, say £50. If they can get absolutely bladdered, then they have money, and that might make them think twice doing it again. Sure there are flaws in this, infringements of rights and so forth, but better that, than taking up value space, time in A&E.

[R1Geezer]

That's the thing paul, he's passed the breathalyser on many occasions, when stopped he always told the truth about what he's had and I know because I've watched him drink them. The point is and he makes this point himself, you can drink a lot more than you think and still be legal, whether safe is a more subjective test. The DD limit is far to high. All this BS about 2 pints is cobblers the fact is that 1 unit per hours dissipates, have 5 pints in 5 hours and you can drive.

[emmie]

that should read valuable space and time in hospital.