Thetownend.com

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7844449.stm

Is it just me or is this the biggest load of bollocks I've ever read.  I'm aware of what the governments recommendations for drinking are, and choose to totally ignore them.

The way it is being reported here makes it sound like a major issue that 1/3 of adults drink more than 4 units of alchohol 1 day a week.  Thats 2 1/2 pints of stella! Its not exactly a binge is it?

Sounds like the type of thing that comes out to support massivly upping taxes on alcohol to me....

I haven't touched a drop since NYE.

A pint of Stella is around 3 units.

The daily allowance is a pint of Weston's Organic Cider :)

I thought it was 2.2, that may be a can though.  Thats even worse though! 

I just dont believe that regually drinking 1.5 pints of stella a day is going to give me serious heath problems. 

Try it. Monitor the effects and publish them. Then take someone to court for lying or something and get your results published by the media on saying how it's ok.

Sounds like a bit too much effort

Every day? It most certainly would give you health problems if you drank that small amount for a long period of time.

How many pints would you have drunk in 10 years if you did it every day?

5,500 pints processed by your poor internal organs!

And that's not taking into account any days where you drink more than 1.5 pints.

I must have done a god few weeks worth last night then, never mind. I suspect I shall do the same tonight if I can drag myself out of my bedroom. Take that, liver.

I would hope that it was more to do with attempting to curb the ingrained tradition in the UK to get battered at any given opportunity, improve general health, and reduce the burden on the NHS.

...it's almost certainly an excuse to raise taxes though.

The recommended unit intakes have been the same for years. I guess the recent survey is to do with the recent advertising campaign, you must have seen the big advertising boards with different alcoholic beverages with their units written on.

Alcohol tax almost certainly will rise though yeah, maybe not whiskey/spirits.

I havent had any alcohol whatsoever for 17 days!!

I'm scared.

I've only had a glass of wine this week.

Me too. I'm getting back on it tomorrow though.

Yeah. think I'll be on the limey ace tomorrow

Read this at the time...I'll drink what I bloody well like.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article2697975.ece

It's not in the article, but also in that edition they showed that teatotallers have the same life expectancy as someone who drinks a bottle of wine a day.  Statistically, you'll live longer by drinking less than a bottle of wine a day, than not drinking at all.

Finally, alcohol preserves things and kills germs...fB's gonna live forever!

Most drinks are going down by ABV anyway to avoid the hefty alcohol duty increases. Stella bottles have dropped to 4.5% from 5, SMirnoff Ice from 4.5 to 4, Boddingtons Draft from 3.8 to 3.5...

Have they changed the classifications around then Gaz? I thought (probably incorrectly) that it was the same duty on beer whatever the strength, as long as it met the beer classification.

NAh looks like I was wrong. Beers works on Rate per £ per hectolitre per cent of
alcohol in the beer

The limitations as recommended by the governmanet have absolutely no basis in fact.

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 disclosure that the 1987 recommendation was prompted by “a feeling that you had to say something” came from Richard Smith, a member of the Royal College of Physicians working party that produced it.

He told The Times that the committee’s epidemiologist had confessed that “it’s impossible to say what’s safe and what isn’t” because “we don’t really have any data whatsoever”.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article2697975.ece

oooh Donkey beat me to it.

Note to self...always read the second page.

On another topic, there was a Manatee questions on The Weakest Link.

I thought stella was 5.2%?

They brought out that new one which was 4% the same as Becks Vier.

Stella was 5.2% BUT Stella sales have slumped a lot believe it or not so Stella brought our Eikon Artois and Peeterman Artois, Both has no success so Artois kept the Stella Artois name and re-branded Peeterman Artois effectively as Stella Artois 4% to compete with lower ABV lagers like Becks or Carling.

ABV on draught is different to ABV say in a plastic or glass bottle or can etc... You can get a 5.2% in bottle but 4.7 say on Draught. Depends on the brewery.

Due to the credit crunch, premier lagers such as Kronie, Stella and Heineken have seen a downturn in sales in favour of Carling, Becks, Fosters. as many pubs sell these a bit cheaper now.

Magners as well, the dogs bollocks 2 years ago, now sales have dropped 16% in over 2 years in favour for Bulmers (Which is pretty much the same but cheaper) and Gaymers. Magers got arrogant and jacked their prices up. Same with Kopparberg, hence why you see a lot of Bulmers Pear Cide instead now.

Nah mate is by the Alcohol by Volume (ABV) Breweries etc will lose many customers due to duty increases so if they reduce the ABV they can sell at a lower price to the customer which hence increases their profits as pubs will by similar amounts to now instead of buying less at the higher price

Eg. 2 11 gallon kegs of Carling at £71.83 or 1 Carling Keg at £77.58 so....

Yeah. I looked it up straight after.
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageExcise_InfoGuides&propertyType=document&id=HMCE_PROD_009531
seems the recent rates. If anybody else is interested.

Out of interest what do alcopops come under? Are they just classed as beer?

I did some quick calculations on the beer and worked out that it costs about 9.2p per % per pint. Which is more than I was expecting to be honest. cunts.

cunts indeed. 

trying to stop people drinking to excess with tax rises wont achieve anything unless the raised the taxes by 1000% or something. And any government that did that would become the most hated in history instantly.

Adding a few quid to the cost of a day/night out on the piss wont make any difference.  You've either got £50 / £100 to piss up the wall or you havnt.

Depends really as Bacardi is obviously Rum whilst VK is Vodka and depends on the ABV of the product. That HMRC only gives a small break down really. There are several other little things they don't let you see. Best website for the state of drinks etc and the groups trying to lower costs etc is here http://www.thepublican.com/.

If we say take for example a normal pub in todays climate....

Makes about 5k a week average then you take away your food costs £200.00 P/W then your beer costs £1k-£2k depending on whats ordered, Plus rent, council tax, licence fees, electric, Water etc etc etc. Pubs are maybe making about £700.00 a month profit, which some may so "oh well thats pretty good" but if your beer pump goes for example £350.00 of that easily gone plus repairs to the premises etc you are lucky to turn a profit. Ok this example is extreme but then the government puts duty up on alcohol so your beer costs go from £1K to £1.2 K (without an increase in sales) and £500.00 is left for repairs upgrade and just general living so... its hard shit right now. Pubcos are different obviously.

Some pubs now like Wetherspoon sell Greene King at 99p, well I think their stock is close dated anyway so get at a discount but a company like ours who buys brand new would lose so much money on it we cant afford to do it.

I like this idea.  I drink certain things because I like the taste of them, not to get absolutely smashed intentionally.  Nothing worse than going out and your drink going to your head quicker than planned and losing all functioning ability! (Although most will disagree with me I suppose!) 

:flaccid: Indeed nothing worse.

Really Reg? I find the drink can vastly improve my stamina. Ahem.

 I am of course talking hypothetically here...the droop is not something I've ever particularly suffered from.

Particularly? ;)

I had a can of Heiney on the train home, the 5% tastes much better than the piss water it used to be.

Conclusion: stronger = better  :)

I can confirm I've been true to my word.

 Good spot...I'll hold my hand up, to 6 month period in my late 20's, when the stress of work and doing a further degree meant I went right off sex...the 18 year old bird I was seeing at the time thought it was her, I tried to explain it wasn't but she wouldn't have it. (and didn't get it)

 The solution, finish degree and give up work...J Kyle.

I'm with CT - mine's a large one (and I'll have another drink to celebrate that)

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/daily-alcohol-limits-not-really-working-for-us%2c-say-drinkers-200901231531/

Tom Logan, a trainee solicitor from Northampton, said: "It seems to me that they may have confused a safe daily limit with what I like to call 'lunch'."

:D