Alcohol Review - Issue 52, March 12th

“As drinking increased from one alcohol unit to two a day in 50-year-olds there are changes in their brains equivalent to aging two years,“ says a new study in the journal Nature. Going from two to three units a day was like aging three-and-a-half years.

A grassroots initiative launched this week to combat undue alcohol industry influence on policy, education and community life in Ireland, led by the Irish Community Action on Alcohol Network (I-CAAN).

“The I-Mark is a brand, a logo and a social movement which aims to build solidarity and visibility across the community, voluntary and charity sectors in Ireland in regard to non-collaboration with the alcohol industry,” says the initiative, which has attracted international support.   

“We wouldn’t tolerate the tobacco industry being in our schools teaching young people how to smoke safely, yet we tolerate the same in relation to alcohol in this country. And that is something we need to challenge and resist,” said Paula Leonard of I-CAAN.

The Danish Health Board launched new alcohol guidelines this week, the first update since 2010.

The motto is “10-4”. This means adults are advised to consume no more than 150ml of alcohol a week, ten Danish units, with no more than 60ml on any one day, four units. The risk is the same for men and women up to this level, it says, but rises faster for women above it.

The guidance also recommends that young people do not drink any alcohol until they are 18. It is currently possible to buy alcohol from supermarkets at 16, something which may now be set for change.