ONE DRINK EVERY DAY MAY LEAD TO CHILD NEGLECT

SCOTS w ho d rink m ore than a glass of wine a day are more likely to neglect or abuse their children, NHS chiefs warn. NHS’s shock alcohol warning to parents:

New official alcohol advice claims parents drinking more than 14 units a week could be putting their children at risk of abuse.

The warning is contained in an alcohol leaflet being handed out by GPs and hospitals. It also states that drinkers exceeding the guidelines – which equate to six medium glasses of wine a week – are more likely to suffer a host of other problems including making mistakes at work or falling victim to crime.

But last night critics branded the move ‘extreme’. Recommended

maximum weekly drinking levels were lowered last year, amid growing concern about the health risks of alcohol.

Now the NHS has changed its advice to warn that drinking more than 14 units a week – equivalent to six pints of beer or six 175ml glasses of wine – is ‘too much’ and could cause a raft of personal, social and work problems.

The NHS Health Scotland leaflet states: ‘If you drink more than the drinking guidelines it can affect your health and make you more likely to be involved in an accident or to be a victim of crime. Drinking too much can also cause social problems and can have a negative effect on your family and wider community.

‘Drinking too much alcohol can affect your health, your job, your family, your relationships and your community. Alcohol can increase your risk of injury and health problems and can have other adverse effects, even when you think it isn’t harming you.’

According to the guidance, problems associated with drinking ‘too much’ include ‘attempted suicide, brain damage, cancer, falls and collapses in the elderly, dementia, high blood pressure and insomnia.

Financial problems and ‘making mistakes, having accidents at work or taking time off because you are hungover’ are added woes, it claims, along with ‘family and relationships’ issues

‘We need to focus on problem drinkers’

such as ‘child abuse, child neglect, domestic abuse and unsafe sex’.

Officials say the guidance should be handed to patients by NHS staff at GP surgeries and A&E departments. Those who admit exceeding the 14unit limit will be offered advice on how to cut down, such as filling in a drinking diary and listing the ‘pros and cons’ of drinking.

The dangers of excessive drinking are well known but the new guidelines make the UK one of the world’s most stringent countries. Previously, the maximum recommended weekly alcohol intake for men was 21 units but this was cut to 14 last year by the UK’s Chief Medical Officers. The limit for women remained at 14.

The most recent Scottish Health Survey, however, suggests many people are routinely breaching the limits. The average number of units consumed per week among drinkers is 12.9 units.

The latest warning is contained in an NHS Health Scotland information leaflet called ‘Making a change – helping you make positive choices about the amount you drink’.

It includes a drink diary to help people work out how much they have been drinking and ways to help people cut down.

But Josie Appleton, convener of the Manifesto Club, which campaigns against the nanny state, said: ‘The idea that having less than one glass of wine a night will cause neglect goes against what is normal social drinking for many adults throughout Europe, who have a glass of wine with dinner. People know when their alcohol intake is a problem and it’s not at that level – that’s ridiculous.

‘We need to focus on those drinkers with the most serious problems.’

Miles Briggs, Scottish Conservative public health spokesman, said: ‘It is right for NHS Scotland to make the public aware of the new guidelines, but many people will consider warnings about child abuse and neglect to be extreme.

‘There are plenty of moderate drinkers out there who may come close to or even exceed the recommended weekly intake that would certainly not consider themselves to have a problem. It is the binge drinkers and those who clog up our A&E departments at the weekend that need to take heed of the message to drink more responsibly.’

Scotland has one of the worst alcohol problems in the world, annually costing the NHS around £267million.

A recent global poll found that the country was number one in the world for alcohol-related hospital admissions.

The Scottish Government is desperate to crack down on problem drinking and the new guidance is just the latest step.

The SNP plan to introduce a blanket minimum price for alcohol is being appealed at the Supreme Court by the Scotch Whisky Association.

The UK Chief Medical Officers reduced the drinking limits after reviewing the latest evidence on the impact of alcohol on cancer, heart disease and general life expectancy.

But the move was opposed by campaigners such as CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, which branded it the ‘rocky road to prohibition’.

A spokesman for NHS Health Scotland said: ‘Our resources have been updated to be consistent with the new UK Chief Medical Officers’ drinking guidelines.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘These alcohol guidelines are set by the UK Chief Medical Officers and they aim to help people understand the risks alcohol may pose to their health.’