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Old April 19th 09, 02:11 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Mason
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Posts: 4,174
Default The BMA Promote Safer Cycling


"Judith Smith" wrote in message
...


The BMA also says it is bad for our health to consume more than two pints
of
beer a day, which is tosh as well.



I am sure you are probably right - however I have not seen that - can
you give a reference please?


Sure
http://www.iop.kcl.ac.uk/Iop/PRT/sensible.htm
The sensible drinking message set out in the Lord President's Report on
Alcohol Misuse in 1991 was adopted by the Health of the Nation in 1992. This
promoted the simple message that drinking less than 21 units of alcohol per
week for men and 14 units for women was unlikely to damage health. The
targets set were a reduction in the percentage of men drinking more than 21
units per week from 28% in 1990 to 18% in 2005 and of women drinking more
than 14 units per week from 11% in 1990 to 7% in 2005.

Two years later despite a lack of progress towards these targets, and in
response to a parliamentary question in April 1994, the Government
established an inter-departmental working group. Its purpose was to review
the sensible drinking message in light of possible evidence for a
cardiovascular protective effect afforded by alcohol. Their deliberations
produced the 1995 report entitled 'Sensible Drinking'. In the report they
concluded that daily benchmarks could help individuals decide how much to
drink on single occasions and therefore enable them to avoid episodes of
intoxication with their attendant health and social risks.

Their advice being that the health benefit from drinking related to men aged
over 40 and that the major part of this benefit could be obtained at levels
as low as one unit a day, with the maximum health advantage lying between 1
and 2 units a day. The report went on to state that "regular consumption of
between 3 and 4 units a day by men of all ages will not accrue significant
health risk and consistently drinking 4 or more units a day is not advised
as a sensible drinking level because of the progressive health risk it
carries". As regards females, the health benefit from drinking related to
postmenopausal women with the major part of this benefit being obtained at
levels as low as one unit a day, the maximum health advantage lying between
1 and 2 units a day.

The report stated that "regular consumption of between 2 and 3 units a day
by women of all ages will not accrue any significant health risk and
consistently drinking 3 or more units a day is not advised as a sensible
drinking level because of the progressive health risk it carries". The
significance of the additional 'any' in the recommendation for women is not
clear and has not received any specific comment. In effect this raised the
sensible drinking limits to a maximum of almost 28 units per week for men
and almost 21 units per week for women. These new benchmarks represented a
50% rise on the previous upper limit for women and a 33% increase for men.



In April 1995 the BMA (British Medical Association) responded with the
recommendation that the sensible drinking limits of 21 units per week for
men and 14 units per week for women should not be relaxed, a position with
which the royal colleges of physicians, psychiatrists, and general
practitioners concur. The conflicting reports concerning sensible drinking
in Britain illustrate that there is no consensus on what is a sensible level
of alcohol consumption, and as a result, there is an inconsistent and
confused public health message.


--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/

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