Premium
Lack of international consensus in low‐risk drinking guidelines
Author(s) -
Furtwængler Nina A. F. F.,
Visser Richard O.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0959-5236
DOI - 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2012.00475.x
Subject(s) - consumption (sociology) , labelling , legislation , alcohol consumption , alcohol , government (linguistics) , environmental health , medicine , business , psychology , political science , law , criminology , social science , chemistry , linguistics , philosophy , biochemistry , sociology
and Aims To encourage moderate alcohol consumption, many governments have developed guidelines for alcohol intake, guidelines for alcohol consumption during pregnancy and legislation relating to blood alcohol limits when driving. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of international consensus within such guidelines. Design and Methods Official definitions of standard drinks and consumption guidelines were searched for on government websites, including all 27 E uropean U nion M ember S tates and countries from all global geographic regions. Results There was a remarkable lack of agreement about what constitutes harmful or excessive alcohol consumption on a daily basis, a weekly basis and when driving, with no consensus about the ratios of consumption guidelines for men and women. Discussion and Conclusions International consensus in low‐risk drinking guidelines is an important—and achievable—goal. Such agreement would facilitate consistent labelling of packaged products and could help to promote moderate alcohol consumption. However, there are some paradoxes related to alcohol content labelling and people's use of such information: although clearer information could increase people's capacity to monitor and regulate their alcohol consumption, not all drinkers are motivated to drink moderately or sensibly, and drinkers who intend to get drunk may use alcohol content labelling to select more alcoholic products.