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New responsible drinking guidelines completely out of kilter, says WSTA chief

New responsible drinking guidelines completely out of kilter, says WSTA chief

 

Source: Drinks International

By Holly Motion

13 May, 2016

 

The UK chief medical officer’s responsible drinking guidelines are entirely out of kilter with the rest of the world and out of touch with reality, according to WSTA’s Miles Beale.

 

“The announcement was made without any consultation and frankly we were bitterly disappointed,” chief executive Miles Beale said at the Gin Guild Ginposium, London. “The lack of foresight and the continued reluctance of the Department of Health to engage on this issue is unacceptable.”

 

The new recommendation of 14 unites of alcohol, or seven pints of beer a week, was introduced in January.

 

Beale added: “We as an industry were not invited to take part in the review of the guidelines nor were we given any time to prepare for the announcement and overnight the information the industry voluntarily puts on its labels, and is now on over 80% of products sold, was out of date and obsolete over night.”

 

The chief executive said there is no prospect of amending the guidelines that he calls “entirely out of kilter with the rest of the world, and out of touch with reality” and any consultation “looks likely to be nothing more than an administrative exercise”.