Pint per week drink limit ‘ridiculous’
HEALY-RAE SLAMS HEALTH EXPERT’S CALL
TD MICHAEL Healy-Rae last night blasted calls for the safe drinking recommendations to be reduced to one pint a week.
The Kerry Deputy spoke out after a top medical expert said the current guidelines of 17 standard drinks for men and 11 standard drinks for women are excessive.
There are two standard drinks in a pint, a pub measure of spirits and a quarter bottle of wine.
Mr Healy-Rae, whose family runs a pub in Kilgarvan, Co Kerry, told The Star about a friend of his that lived until 108 drinking a large whiskey every night.
He said: “Anyone that suggests that drinking more than one or two pints or a couple of whiskeys a week can be bad for your health needs to take themselves away and have themselves examined.
“I knew a good friend of mine that died just last year, in 2022, and he had a good big large glass of whiskey every night.
“And he told me that was better than any tablets in keeping him healthy.
“There’s moderation and moderation
Minister Foley finally broke her silence last night when she told The Star she was not going to get into it with the President.
She said: “It would not be appropriate for a minister to engage in public debate with the office of the President.
Schools
“Schools are free to have their own policy on homework.
“Schools are places where creative pursuits are cultivated, nurtured and encouraged and that creativity may be reflected in homework.”
It comes days after President Higgins’ call for homework to be banned at home and for all work to stay in the classroom. and moderation, but to honestly say that you can do serious harm with more than two units — drink is not in itself bad — in a week, that’s just plain bloody ridiculous.”
It comes after Dr John Ryan, a liver specialist at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, said health chiefs need to follow the lead of Canadian authorities, who recommend just two standard drinks — or one pint — per week as a safe limit.
He said the evidence from research in Canada shows that “there is no safe limit for drinking alcohol”.
Risks
The guidelines on safe drinking from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction calls for people not to drink at all to avoid health risks caused by alcohol.
Hepatologist consultant Dr Ryan told RTE Radio 1’s Today with Claire Byrne show: “These guidelines reflect that there is no safe limit for drinking alcohol. They seem very stark and severe, but that’s where they’re coming from.”