How to Avoid Hangovers
The Price of Alcoholic Drinks is the Subject of a New Debate
Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief UK Medical Officer has suggested a minimum price of 50p per unit of alcohol to curb what he regards as Britain's spiralling drink problem (1). The move could double the price of some drinks, but is that necessarily a bad thing?
A Calculated Risk
The annual cost to the NHS of treating alcohol related diseases is estimated at £2.7 billion, but there is also the incalculable cost of human misery brought on by alcohol abuse at home and at work. Cheaper goods are always attractive when times are hard, so it is not surprising to see sales of cheap alcohol rocketing in supermarkets.
Marketing booze is not difficult. The shelves adjacent to the check out in our local store were recently transformed overnight. Someone had realised the value of their strategic position and replaced essential toiletries with a solid wall of wine and beer bottles. Forget the toothpaste - pick up a Gin & Tonic instead.
Data to Die For
The UK Government guidelines for sensible drinking suggest a maximum weekly total of 21 units for men and 14 for women, but the research base for these figures is somewhat arbitrary as the definition of a unit varies between 8g (10ml) of pure alcohol in the UK, 6g in Ireland, rising to 10g in Australasia, 12g in the USA and a mighty 20g in Japan (2). So what is the low down on our favourite tipple?
Essentially, alcohol is a drug, just like nicotine, caffeine, aspirin or morphine and if it was discovered tomorrow it would be regulated as a class A substance, based on its potency and addictive qualities (3). It has become socially acceptable over the ages because it is impossible to avoid. Even chimpanzees and bumble bees get drunk consuming over-ripe fermented fruits. As Homo sapiens, we are more systematic than other animals in exploring the mood enhancing effects of one of nature's metabolic miracles. Once under the influence, the arithmetic becomes more elastic and the weekly totals add up.
A Possible Solution
Over the centuries, brewers and vintners have perfected the art of packaging this elixir in a variety of interesting ways, including imaginative labelling - which now indicates the total number of units you are about to consume. The problem is that alcohol is sold in bottles and cans, not units. Armed with a nice bottle of red for the weekend, how long do we spend reading the instructions? The varying strengths of drinks and the generous capacity of some wine glasses does not help. One could try dispensing the drink from a kitchen jug, but it'll never catch on.
A Registered Nutritionist finally provided a much needed reality check.
- A pint of premium strength lager weighs in at around 300kcals, equivalent to at least 3/4 pint of full cream milk. Fancy another?
- Likewise, a small (125ml) glass of dry red or white wine contains as many calories as the same amount of whole milk (about 85 kilocals). Cheers!
Shall we open another bottle - or save it for the Shreddies?
References:
- Daily Telegraph 17/3/2009. "Sir Liam Donaldson unveils alcohol minimum price plan".
- ABC of Alcohol. 2005. Edit. Paton A, Touquet R. BMJ Books. Blackwell.
- The Guardian 23/3/2007. "Alcohol worse than ecstasy on shock new drug list"
Cashing in the Units
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