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The BBC, in a story entitled [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7619508.stm]Drinkers fall into 'nine groups'[/url], wrote:The government believes it has identified nine types of heavy drinker as it launches a new alcohol campaign.

Research by the Department of Health in England with focus groups found heavy drinkers often fell into one of a number of categories.
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Name
Characteristics
Key motivations

Depressed drinker
Life in a state of crisis eg recently bereaved, divorced or in financial crisis
Alcohol is a comforter and a form of self-medication used to help them cope

De-stress drinker
Pressurised job or stressful home life leads to feelings of being out of control and burdened with responsibility
Alcohol is used to relax, unwind and calm down and to gain a sense of control when switching between work and personal life. Partners often support or reinforce behaviour by preparing drinks for them

Re-bonding drinker
Relevant to those with a very busy social calendar
Alcohol is the ‘shared connector' that unifies and gets them on the same level. They often forget the time and the amount they are consuming

Conformist drinker
Traditional guys who believe that going to the pub every night is ‘what men do'
Justify it as ‘me time'. The pub is their second home and they feel a strong sense of belonging and acceptance within this environment

Community drinker
Drink in fairly large social friendship groups
The sense of community forged through the pub-group. Drinking provides a sense of safety and security and gives their lives meaning. It also acts a social network

Boredom drinker
Typically single mums or recent divorcees with restricted social life
Drinking is company, making up for an absence of people. Drinking marks the end of the day, perhaps following the completion of chores

Macho drinker
Often feeling under-valued, disempowered and frustrated in important areas of their life
Have actively cultivated a strong ‘alpha male' that revolves around their drinking ‘prowess'. Drinking is driven by a constant need to assert their masculinity and status to themselves and others

Hedonistic drinker
Single, divorced and/or with grown up children
Drinking excessively is a way of visibly expressing their independence, freedom and ‘youthfulness' to themselves. Alcohol used to release inhibitions

Border dependents
Men who effectively live in the pub which, for them, is very much a home from home
A combination of motives, including boredom, the need to conform, and a general sense of malaise in their lives

The [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7695526.stm]BBC[/url] wrote:The NHS is failing to get a grip on the growing alcohol problems in England, a watchdog says.

The [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7695526.stm]BBC[/url] wrote:In particular, the report called on GPs to take more responsibility as the NHS was struggling to reach those at the early stages of alcohol abuse.

The BBC, in a story entitled [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8172982.stm]Daily alcohol limit 'unhelpful'[/url] wrote:Daily limits on alcohol consumption are meaningless and potentially harmful, experts have warned.

The government says men should drink no more than three to four units per day and women no more than two to three.

Liver specialist Dr Nick Sheron, of the Alcohol Health Alliance UK, says these limits were devised by civil servants with "no good evidence" for doing so.

He says the advice runs the risk of people taking it to mean that it is safe to drink alcohol every day.

Dr Sheron's comments follow a report by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee which suggested public confusion about safe drinking levels was fuelling problem drinking.

Dr Sheron says we should go back to using the old weekly limits, which are based on sound research.

The 1987 sensible drinking limits, which set the bar at 21 units per week for men and 14 units per week for women, remained in place until 1995.

Sensible drinking

It was then that the government decided to switch the limits from weekly to daily in a bid to curb binge drinking and emphasise the harms of saving up a week's limit to blow in one or two sessions at the weekend - a decision it stands by today.

But Dr Sheron says this was a mistake: "They were turned into daily limits by a community of civil servants and the reasoning behind it is shrouded in mystery and is not largely supported by experts.

"The weekly limits were based on robust studies and were set at a level at which alcohol harms outweigh any putative benefit."

Some studies show that alcohol, in moderation, can reduce the risk of heart disease.

In terms of damage to the liver, the risk begins when regular weekly consumption exceeds about 30 units, said Dr Sheron.

But for other conditions, like cancer, the risk starts at zero and goes up proportionately with the amount of alcohol is consumed.

Daily danger

Although the daily recommendations originally included the important caution to have some alcohol-free days, Dr Sheron this message has got lost.

The advice now warns against regularly drinking over the daily limit and says drinkers should also "take a break for 48 hours after a heavy session to let your body recover."

Dr Sheron said that by setting a daily limit, people might take this to mean they could drink every day.

Dr Rachel Seabrook, research manager at the Institute of Alcohol Studies, agrees.

"The Royal Colleges' recommendation for two days of abstinence a week has quietly disappeared. It was probably dropped to keep the message simple. But that is not a good move.

"And we are quite concerned about the use of 'daily' in the message. It implies that you can drink on every day.

"There should be an explicit warning against this."

Clear advice

A Department of Health spokesman defended the current recommendations saying: "Advice on limits is based on scientific evidence from studies in populations in this country and worldwide about long-term health harms for broadly average, healthy adults.

"The scientific evidence base was examined by an inter-departmental working group in 1995. This has been kept under review since then.

"There are a number of public health campaigns to help people understand government guidelines around drinking alcohol.

"Ongoing and future campaigns will also help people to live more healthily."

In Britain in 2007, 69% of people reported that they had heard of the government guidelines on alcohol consumption. Of these people, 40% said that they did not know what the recommendations were.

Although binges are dangerous and can cause harm - largely through accidents caused by reckless behaviour - in terms of long-term health risks, it is the average amounts consumed over the weeks, months and years that count.

A person who regularly drinks 50g of alcohol a day - around 6 units or three pints of normal strength beer - has nearly double the risk of stroke, high blood pressure and pancreatitis as someone who abstains.

In a snapshot survey for England in 2006, 12% of men and 7% of women reported drinking alcohol every day during the previous week.

In the same year, 23% of men and 15% of women reported binge drinking.

JacobH wrote:

Code: Select all

Cockburn's Special Reserve, 2
Croft, 17.5%
DOW LBV, 20%
Graham's LBV, 20%
Taylor's LBV, 20%

DRT wrote:

JacobH wrote:

Code: Select all

Cockburn's Special Reserve, 2
Croft, 17.5%
DOW LBV, 20%
Graham's LBV, 20%
Taylor's LBV, 20%

So, according to this particular UK Government namby-pamby we-know-better-than-you-how-you-should-live-your-life body, one can drink 10 times as much Cockburn SR than most other ports before breaking through their mythical barrier of daily intake?

KillerB wrote:

DRT wrote:

JacobH wrote:

Code: Select all

Cockburn's Special Reserve, 2
Croft, 17.5%
DOW LBV, 20%
Graham's LBV, 20%
Taylor's LBV, 20%

So, according to this particular UK Government namby-pamby we-know-better-than-you-how-you-should-live-your-life body, one can drink 10 times as much Cockburn SR than most other ports before breaking through their mythical barrier of daily intake?

And what sort of life would that be?

The BBC, in a story entitled [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8193639.stm]Drink blamed for oral cancer rise[/url] wrote:Alcohol is largely to blame for an "alarming" rise in the rate of oral cancers among men and women in their forties, say experts.

Numbers of cancers of the lip, mouth, tongue and throat in this age group have risen by 26% in the past decade.

Alcohol consumption has doubled since the 1950s and is the most likely culprit alongside smoking, says Cancer Research UK.

Each year in the UK around 1,800 people die from the disease.

There are 5,000 newly diagnosed cases per year.

Other risk factors that may be involved include a diet low in fruit and vegetables, and the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), which also causes cervical cancer.

Figures produced by Cancer Research UK show that since the mid-1990s, rates of oral cancers have gone up by 28% for men in their forties and 24% for women.

The charity's health information manager Hazel Nunn said: "These latest figures are really alarming.

"Around three-quarters of oral cancers are thought to be caused by smoking and drinking alcohol.

"Tobacco is, by far, the main risk factor for oral cancer, so it's important that we keep encouraging people to give up and think about new ways to stop people taking it up in the first place.

"But for people in their 40s, it seems that other factors are also contributing to this jump in oral cancer rates.

"Alcohol consumption has doubled since the 1950s and the trend we are now seeing is likely to be linked to Britain's continually rising drinking levels."

Oral cancer can be treated successfully if diagnosed early enough.

The most common signs of the disease are ulcers, sores, or red or white patches in the mouth that last longer than three weeks, together with unexplained pain in the mouth or ear.

Alcohol Concern chief executive Don Shenker said: "Many people are not aware of the connection between alcohol and cancer, yet as this research shows, it can be a major contributor or cause of the disease.

"While alcoholic liver disease remains the number one killer linked to alcohol, more and more people are suffering from oral cancers - and record drinking levels have undeniably played a part."

He said it was time to introduce tobacco-style health warnings on alcohol.

"It's a consumer issue - people have a right to know the full range of health risks associated with drinking alcohol above recommended guidelines.

"This research will hopefully help people realise the full extent of the damage that alcohol can do, then they're better placed to make informed decisions about how much they drink."

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians and chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: "These latest figures demonstrate once again that people are being struck down at ever younger ages with alcohol-related illnesses that they might never have previously associated with heavy drinking.

"There is an urgent need to rethink how we communicate the risks of misuse. The first step is to challenge the widespread notion that the only chronic health damage is suffered by a minority older drinkers."

Other risk factors that may be involved include a diet low in fruit and vegetables, and the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), which also causes cervical cancer.

jdaw1 wrote:

The BBC, in a story entitled [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8193639.stm]Drink blamed for oral cancer rise[/url] wrote:Numbers of cancers of the lip, mouth, tongue and throat in this age group have risen by 26% in the past decade.

Alcohol consumption has doubled since the 1950s and is the most likely culprit alongside smoking, says Cancer Research UK.

mosesbotbol wrote:What happens if you are member of each drinking type?

The BBC, in a story entitled [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8379608.stm]Exercise 'no cure' for heavy drinking damage[/url], wrote:Exercising may get rid of a hangover, but working out cannot undo the damage that heavy drinking may cause, the government says.

A survey for the Department of Health found almost one in five people in England admitted to exercising to "make up" for a heavy bout of drinking.

The poll also found that one in five people drinks more than double the NHS recommended amounts per day.

For a woman this is two small glasses of wine, and one more for a man.

Some people swear by "sweating out" a hangover and carrying out strenuous exercise to help the body overcome the effects of heavy drinking.

But the government's Know Your Limits campaign is trying to impress upon people that while exercising may make you feel better, it does not undo the damage caused by serious alcohol consumption.

While studies are increasingly showing that alcohol - even large quantities - may be good for the heart, organs such as the liver can suffer grave harm - with alcohol being blamed, for instance, for a large rise in cases of cirrhosis.

It has also been linked to a significant increase in the risk of having a stroke.

The BBC, in a story entitled [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8434905.stm]Home drinkers 'over-pour spirits'[/url], wrote:Most people who drink spirits at home pour well over what they would get in a pub when trying to give a single measure, figures suggest.

The government's Know Your Limits Campaign found that among 600 people tested, the average amount poured was 38ml, compared with a standard 25ml.

Those aged 31 to 50 - the most generous pourers - gave an average of 57ml.

For a person thinking they were drinking 7.5 units a week, the extra measures would equate to 17 units.

It could also mean that people wrongly think they are drinking within the NHS recommended limits of two to three units a day for women and three to four units a day for men.

The alcohol industry has been offering free measuring cups with certain mixer drinks this Christmas.

jdaw1 wrote:

The BBC, in a story entitled [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8434905.stm]Home drinkers 'over-pour spirits'[/url], wrote:Most people who drink spirits at home pour well over what they would get in a pub when trying to give a single measure, figures suggest.

The government's Know Your Limits Campaign found that among 600 people tested, the average amount poured was 38ml, compared with a standard 25ml.

Those aged 31 to 50 - the most generous pourers - gave an average of 57ml.

For a person thinking they were drinking 7.5 units a week, the extra measures would equate to 17 units.

It could also mean that people wrongly think they are drinking within the NHS recommended limits of two to three units a day for women and three to four units a day for men.

The alcohol industry has been offering free measuring cups with certain mixer drinks this Christmas.

KillerB wrote:What are the measurements on "open, insert bottle into mouth and invert"?

The BBC, in a story entitled [url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8432271.stm]Trying to break Russia's vodka dependence[/url] wrote:Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is hoping for some New Year's resolution among his countrymen, as he takes on one of Russia's most deeply-entrenched and prickliest problems - alcoholism.

From 1 January, restrictions on the price of vodka in Russia come into force.

The cheapest bottle of vodka on sale will be 89 roubles (around £1.80; $3) for a half-litre bottle. While that still might sound cheap, the new law is all part of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's plan to tackle alcoholism in Russia.

Russians drink seriously. As a country they get through on average about 18 litres (32 pints) of pure alcohol a year.

Last year, when Mr Medvedev kick-started his campaign, he called Russia's alcohol problem a "national disgrace" and said he was determined to cut that figure by a quarter by 2012.

But combating the consumption of what most Russians consider to be their national drink is a brave political move considering the lack of success his predecessors have had.

The last time anyone tried it was 24 years ago, when Russia was part of the Soviet Union.

Then, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev drastically cut vodka production and did not allow it to be sold before 2pm.

Significantly, perfume was also not to be sold before midday as people were starting to drink that.

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At the moment, bootleg vodka is available at around 40 roubles a half litre. So even though $3 for bottle of vodka may seem cheap to most people, it is double the price of the bootleg version.

Importantly for the government, the minimum-price law brings in a way of telling what is illegal and what is not, and attempts to claw back some tax revenue.

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The problem for Mr Medvedev is that, historically, whenever Russia has tried to combat excessive drinking, illicit sales of alcohol have risen.

Experts estimate that bootleg vodka - often made after-hours in legal distilleries - makes up almost 50% of all vodka drunk by Russians.

Such liquor is unregulated and contributes heavily to the country's 35,000 deaths a year from alcohol poisoning.

The medical journal The Lancet earlier this year estimated that half of all deaths in Russia between 15 and 54 were alcohol-related.

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