New guidelines on drinking - what you need to know

New guidance published today sweeps away 1995 recommendations and takes account of new evidence on the increased risk of developing cancer from drinking, as well as the harms from binge-drinking.

England's Chief Medical Officer said the idea that drinking a glass of red wine a day was good for you was an "old wives' tale".

Dame Sally Davies defended a move to issue the new guidance on drinking, saying there was a need to update the advice based on new scientific evidence.

Men should consume no more than 14 units of alcohol per week, down from the previous 21 units, bringing them into line with the recommendation for women.

A report informing the new guidance says the risk of getting cancer "starts from any level of regular drinking and rises with the amount being drunk".

For every 1,000 women who do not drink, 109 will develop breast cancer. This rises to 126 women for those who drink 14 units or less per week, and 153 women for those who drink 14 to 35 units a week.

Among non-drinking men, 64 in every 1,000 will develop bowel cancer and this stays the same for those drinking 14 units or less per week, but rises to 85 for those drinking 14 to 35 units per week.

The report said drinking regularly over time can lead to a wide range of illnesses including cancers, strokes, heart disease, liver disease, and damage to the brain and nervous system.

Nevertheless, it says drinking 14 unit or less per week keeps "the risk of mortality from cancers or other diseases" - such as liver disease - low.

People should have several booze-free days a week but not "save up" their 14 units for a binge.

Dame Sally said: "There's an old wives' tale that we were all brought up on - that a glass of red wine protected the heart.

"What we find with the science and evidence now is that, because of the improvements in heart outcomes, which is a success story in this country because of reducing smoking, controlling cholesterol, controlling blood pressure, that has gone down and then you have a different balance of harms.

"If you look at the data, you see for men that they would have to drink extraordinarily little to get an improvement in their long-term mortality, w hereas for women, there's a small group aged over 55 who drink up to five units in the week, there is some protection.

"But if they drink above five and to this low-risk guideline, they lose that protective impact of the alcohol."

Here are the full guidelines on consuming alcohol from the UK's chief medical officers.

On regular drinking

• You are safest not to drink regularly more than 14 units per week, to keep health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level.
• If you do drink as much as 14 units per week, it is best to spread this evenly over three days or more. If you have one or two heavy drinking sessions, you increase your risks of death from long-term illnesses and from accidents and injuries.
• The risk of developing a range of illnesses (including, for example, cancers of the mouth, throat and breast) increases with any amount you drink on a regular basis.
• If you wish to cut down the amount you're drinking, a good way to help achieve this is to have several drink-free days each week.

On drinking on any single occasion

Men and women can reduce risks by: Limiting the total amount of alcohol you drink on any occasion.

• Drinking more slowly, drinking with food, and alternating with water.
• Avoiding risky places and activities, making sure you have people you know around, and ensuring you can get home safely.
• The sorts of things that are more likely to happen if you do not judge the risks from how you drink correctly can include: accidents resulting in injury (causing death in some cases), misjudging risky situations, and losing self-control.
• As well as the risk of accident and injury, drinking alcohol regularly is linked to long-term risks such as heart disease, cancer, liver disease, and epilepsy.

On drinking in pregnancy

• If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.
• Drinking in pregnancy can lead to long-term harm to the baby, with the more you drink the greater the risk.
• The risk of harm to the baby is likely to be low if a woman has drunk only small amounts of alcohol before she knew she was pregnant or during pregnancy.
• Women who find out they are pregnant after already having drunk during early pregnancy, should avoid further drinking, but should be aware that it is unlikely in most cases that their baby has been affected.