Crazy New Guidelines Recommend Boozing 'Only' 5 Days a Week

on January 9, 2012 at 1:53 PM

martini How many nights a week do you drink alcohol? One? Two? Three or four? Could you drink five days a week and still feel fit and awake and accomplish everything on your to-do list? I couldn't. But some members of the British Parliament are calling for a review of government guidelines in the U.K. in hopes of recommending just that: that people in the U.K. take at least two days off from alcohol each week.

Even if five nights of drinking, and two nights off, on any given week, probably sounds like a lot to the rest of us, it's apparently the picture of prudence in the U.K.

Since 1995, the British government recommended that men drink no more than three or four units of alcohol per day, and women drink no more than two or three. (A unit is the equivalent of a shot of hard liquor or a half-pint of beer.) The British government also advised people to give themselves 48 hours after a bout of serious, hard-core drinking – to let their bodies recover. The group of MPs organizing behind the two-day-off recommendation (which is still in the exploratory phase) contends that the current recommendations "appeared to endorse daily drinking." You think?

Look, I enjoy the occasional glass of wine with dinner or beer with friends or post-work cocktail as much as the next gal, but the idea of drinking the equivalent of two or three shots (or two small glasses of wine) every single day – or even five days a week – would basically preclude me from accomplishing almost anything else. How would I wake up early, get my kids to school, get my work done, clean the house, make dinner, help the kids with homework, bathe them, put them to bed, load the dishwasher, do the laundry, pay the bills …? When I wasn't too busy drinking, I'd be passed out in bed.

Sure, giving up my daily responsibilities, ripping up my ever-lengthening to-do list, and relaxing into a continuous drunken stupor sort of sounds vaguely appealing, in its way, but not really. And not as a regular way of life.

What do you think of the British government's alcohol-consumption guidelines?

Image via ginsnob/Flickr

About the author Amy Reiter

is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband/work spouse, two kids, and very demanding laptop computer.

Filed Under: alcohol, drinking

Comments (37)

Nonmember comment from Shelly

on Jan 9, 2012 at 2:05 PM

Every single person I've met from Britain has drinking problems. Obviously, there are a lot of people there. Who I know doesn't necessarily reflect the majority. However, I've noticed my European friends drink far more then others. As for me, I've never had a drink and never will.

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RhondaVeggie

on Jan 9, 2012 at 2:10 PM

I think the majority of the working class is going to totally ignore it as will quite a few people in the middle and upper classes too. Going down to the pub after work is a way of life for many blue collar folks and office workers alike. Students too can be wound in the pub any night of the week. While showing up to work drunk in the afternoon is frowned upon nowadays there are still plenty of people who will have a spot of beer with their lunch when they go out.

It might seem excessive but it's really just a different choice of poison. I know way more people in the US who smoke pot to relax than I do in the UK. There are also far more people on drugs for depression and anxiety. That's not to suggest that people who seriously needs those drugs should just booze it up instead but the folks who are on them to take the edge off would get much the same effect from a couple of drinks and there are pros and cons to both sides.

suziejax

on Jan 9, 2012 at 2:53 PM

I don't booze at all

MamaMandee

on Jan 9, 2012 at 4:00 PM

That seems like a lot but maybe not for someone who has been drinking like that their whole (hopefully) adult life.

elibee

on Jan 9, 2012 at 4:01 PM

OMG they drink like fish, I know and work with them and have lived there. It's their version of having fun, relaxing, celebrating, mourning, treating themselves - you name it, they drink. It is the ONE thing that crosses all class barriers in the UK ! It's also not getting any better - young kids get plastered and do the unimaginable - there are photos to show it on various websites (think sex anywhere, puking everywhere etc. etc.) - it is disgusting and will be the downfall of the UK/GB...

LOswald0314

on Jan 9, 2012 at 4:14 PM

That does seem like a lot! I might have one drink a day 3-4 days a week.

Bmat

on Jan 9, 2012 at 4:36 PM

It makes sense to me if they want to discourage daily drinking.

Elise48

on Jan 9, 2012 at 5:08 PM

They're not recommending people strive to drink that much but that those who do drink every day limit themselves. This makes most of your key points irrelevant since someone who already drinks more than 5 days a week will function better than their current normal if they reduce their consumption. However, I also have to say that it would be pretty easy to drink two small glasses of wine most nights and still function perfectly fine during the day. It's really not *that* much.