Decanter World Wine AwardsGovernment alcohol ad 'scaremongering'
- Monday 6 February 2012
- Comments (7)
A TV advert launched yesterday claims that regularly drinking around two large glasses of wine or two strong pints of beer a day triple the risk of developing mouth cancer and double the risk of developing high blood pressure.
In the advert cartoon figures (pictured) swig wine and beer while a voiceover warns, ‘apparently two large glasses of wine or more a day could make me three times more likely to get mouth cancer.’
The Department of Health, which runs the campaign under its Change4Life initiative, said it is prompted by a survey of more than 2,000 people which found significant percentages of people do not realise that drinking over recommended limits increases the health risks such as developing mouth, throat and neck cancer, decreasing fertility and high blood pressure.
Senior health professionals are behind the campaign: Sarah Lyness, executive director of policy and information at Cancer Research UK said, ‘Alcohol can increase the risk of seven types of cancer, including two of the commonest kinds – breast and bowel cancers. And a recent study showed that nearly 12,500 cancers in the UK each year are caused by alcohol.
‘The more people cut back on alcohol, the more they can reduce the risk.’
But a spokesperson for Alcohol In Moderation, a group which promotes responsible drinking and is made up of more than 40 senior health professionals from universities and medical schools worldwide, told Decanter.com the government’s approach was alarmist and its definitions too loose.
Helena Conibear, executive director of AIM and co-director of the International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research, which has submitted written evidence on alcohol consumption to the UK government’s Science and Technology Committee, said existing guidelines of 2-3 units of alcohol for women and 3-4 for men ‘work perfectly well’.
‘To talk about “two large glasses of wine” is too loose a definition. There is a danger of scaremongering. We have put a huge effort into educating the public: current guidelines are sensible and where they should be.’
Conibear said there is a major difference between a glass of Pinot Grigio at 12% and a glass of 14% Shiraz. ‘You have to define what a large glass is, and what “strong” means. This is the line we should be taking.’
Gavin Partington at the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said, ‘Many would accept that it is the government’s responsibility to communicate guidelines on alcohol, while they may have issues about the tone and volume of the communication.’
Have your say!
sam w
February 08 14:24
You have never heard of mouth cancer ! "Prostae" cancer is a new one on me though
Giles
February 08 10:49
I'd much rather the government spent it's time sorting out the economy, crime and all the other problems that make life in this country so miserable that the only way to get through the day is to have a couple of glasses of wine at the end of it!
James Russell-Grant
February 08 09:37
I speak as someone who works in the wine industry, just incase I’m accused of being biased.
I do think it’s a shame that when the government gets involved in such campaigns they don’t give a clear understandable message.
Why not refer to wine in real world terms i.e. “a large 250ml glass of 14% wine…..” people then have all the facts in an understandable format.
Not all wines are high in alcohol and not all people serve large glasses as standard so it’s a confusing message. Some of our best selling wines are 11-12.5% alcohol and they sell well because they are good wines not because they are low alcohol.
We had sample from a wine producer sent in to us for tasting for possible inclusion in our wine list.
The wine itself was nice enough but at 15.5% we made the decision that it simply wasn’t responsible to have a wine on sale with such a high alcohol content.
We have no vested interest in selling high alcohol wines, this is something that winemakers themselves need to take on board.
James
Andrew Baines
February 07 09:22
If a large glass of wine is 250ml, then 2 large glasses is two-thirds of a bottle. If that bottle is at 14% alcohol(sadly too common), and you drink that much every day, then yes, it's bad for you.
So, the charge against the government is wrong - they're not scaremongering (not much anyway).
Why can't the wine trade sort itself out and have standard size glasses (175ml please), then these sort of accusations would be easier to defend - 2 large glasses becomes 3 glasses which is much easier to defend.