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Tories want to scrap system of measuring alcohol in units
Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent13 Jan 2010
The system of measuring alcoholic drinks in units could be scrapped under plans unveiled by the Conservatives today.
They say units are widely misunderstood and fail to take account adequately of differing strengths of drinks, such as beers and wines.
Unveiling a raft of public health reforms, shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said units would be replaced by the actual number of centilitres of pure alcohol contained in each drink.
The Tories also want calorie counts on bottles of wine and beer.
The strategy Paper could also see new guideline limits introduced on how much people should drink and a ban on supermarkets selling cheap alcohol as a “loss-leader”.
Mr Lansley said systems of labelling which are unhelpful to consumers must be abolished.
He said: “Labour's record is one of a huge rise in health problems such as binge-drinking, obesity and sexually transmitted diseases. We cannot go on like this. Today I am setting out concrete plans to encourage people to live healthier lives.
“We will change labelling in order to take account of social norms and to abolish systems of labelling that do not help consumers understand the amount of alcohol they drink.”
The drinks industry currently has a voluntary agreement with the Government to improve labelling but recent research shows many producers are failing.
Only 18 per cent of products carry information about sensible drinking levels and only just over half carry unit information.
Alcohol-reduction charities have already urged the Government to replace the units system with one that is easier to understand.
Fewer than one in 10 men and one in five women knows the “safe” recommended daily alcohol allowance. It is currently three to four units for men and two to three for women.
The Conservative Green Paper, called A Healthier Nation, also proposes ringfencing public health budgets by health trusts.
This would mean cash for combating depression, obesity and disease-related issues could not be used for non-public health campaigns.
Fast-food outlets, restaurants, cafés and bars would have to provide calorie-counted menus.
A payment-by results system would be brought in to reward councils and health trusts for tackling obesity, drug use and teenage pregnancy.
The Conservatives will also rename the Department of Health the Department of Public Health.
Reader views (10)
Waste of time?
- Graham, London, 14/01/2010 11:03
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Maybe they could print the alcohol content on bottles in varying font sizes. That way you can start drinking from bottles with it in a small font,say an 8, then the more drunk you get during the evening the barman can reach for the bottles with ever bigger font sizes just so it's easier to keep up?
- Paul, London, 14/01/2010 09:57
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Excuse me - but why?
How many people need to know, to ten decimal places, how much alcohol they've imbibed? Joe Blow in the street needs a working approximation only, hence the units rather than fine detail definitions.
- Rogan, Irving, 13/01/2010 20:03
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It won't make the slightest bit of difference to what people drink. Another total waste of time and money.
- Sally, hertford UK, 13/01/2010 17:13
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Units or centilitres? People still will not have clue how much alcohol was in their glass or whether or not they are over the legal limit. This legislation is meaningless.
- Bloke, Lambeth, 13/01/2010 14:51
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" We cannot go on like this. Today I am setting out concrete plans to encourage people to live healthier lives"
Sounds just like a labourite talking, not a common sense Tory, why should people who don't abuse alcohol have to pay more because of certain others.
Having lived in Spain I noticed Spaniards never binge drink, and cause chaos in public like many do here, and their alcohol is far cheaper than ours here in the UK.
Why not just use existing laws such as drunk and disorderly, and actually do something about the real perpetrators instead.
The Tories sound more like labour each day, talking about making new laws, which is what labour did.
We have perfectly adequate laws that have existed for years, that if enforced will cure the problems we see around us.
- P Staker, London, W8, 13/01/2010 14:05
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1) Initially no system in place.
2) Next, 21 units per week for a man.
3) Next, 3-4 units per day.
4) now, replace the unit system
These Nanny State police are never satisfied with their nanny policies.
- Graham Seed, Edinburgh, 13/01/2010 12:58
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Great. Now can signs at bus stops start telling us how far away the bus is, rather than trying to guess how long it will take to arrive?
- Jack, London, 13/01/2010 11:53
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"55 centilitres of your local brew please barman"
Yeah, that's gonna work!
- Hansel, London, 13/01/2010 11:43
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Common sense at last! I never understood what a unit was. I know was a pint is and that that a bottle of wine contians 75cls.
- Brian G, Norfolk Gorleston, 13/01/2010 11:36
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