Tuesday 12 Jan 2016 @ 09:35
Think Tanks
Printable version

IEA - Chief Medical Officer is scaremongering with new alcohol advice

IEA reaction to new alcohol guidelines released last Friday

Commenting on the new alcohol guidelines released last week, Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Eocnomics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: 

"The Chief Medical Officer has focused on small increases in cancer risk while ignoring the much larger body of evidence that shows moderate drinking reduces heart disease risk and, most importantly, reduces the overall risk of death."

"Alcohol consumption has been falling for a decade. The change to the guidelines will turn hundreds of thousands of people into 'hazardous drinkers' overnight thereby reviving the moral panic about drinking in Britain and opening the door to yet more nanny state interventions."

"People deserve to get honest and accurate health advice from the Chief Medical Officer, not scaremongering."

Notes to editors:

To arrange an interview, please contact Nerissa Chesterfield, Communications Officer: nchesterfield@iea.org.uk 020 7799 8920 or 07791 390 268.

The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving eocnomic and social problems. 

The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties. 

Share this article

Latest News from
Think Tanks

The King's Fund - Approaches to vaccine delivery: learning from Gloucestershire ICB’s Covid-19 vaccine programme

09/12/2025 10:20:00

Rates of vaccination – one of the most effective public health interventions – are declining in the UK. 

The King's Fund - How healthy are Gen Z?

08/12/2025 15:25:00

The government wants Gen Alpha (born after 2012) to be ‘the healthiest generation of children ever’, but what about Gen Z? While some of Gen Z (currently aged 13–28) are still categorised as children, a large proportion are transitioning into adulthood or are already fully fledged adults. So, were Gen Z any healthier than previous generations? And is there anything the government can learn from the changing health patterns of this generation?

Child poverty strategy will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of hardship - biggest gains in North West and Yorkshire, finds IPPR

08/12/2025 11:05:00

Professor Ashwin Kumar, director of research and policy at IPPR, responding to the government’s child poverty strategy

IFS - Rapid fall in pupil numbers gives government a choice: deliver savings or increase school funding per pupil

08/12/2025 10:05:00

The number of children aged under 16 in England is expected to decline by 6% over the next decade – policymakers will have to decide how to respond.

Government action ‘seldom necessary’ in complex problems, says new IEA paper

08/12/2025 09:05:00

A new briefing paper from the Institute of Economic Affairs argues that spontaneous order – the emergence of complex systems without central coordination – provides strong grounds for resisting Government action, especially when proposed to correct market failures or promote efficiency. 

‘Budget for Benefit Street’ claim refuted by numbers, reveals IPPR

01/12/2025 11:15:00

New analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research reveals that scrapping the two-child limit will disproportionately benefit working households, contrary to the ‘Budget for Benefit Street’ narrative pursued by some

King's Fund - Is there a quick route to reducing health care costs or visits to A&E?

01/12/2025 10:15:00

A recently published US study showed that one simple intervention resulted in 27% fewer visits to emergency services. This included 62% fewer visits to the emergency department for behavioural health reasons (the American term for mental health) and 87% fewer emergency department visits related to substance use.

Work Foundation - Government changes unfair dismissal policy to end Parliamentary log jam on Employment Rights Bill

01/12/2025 09:15:00

The Work Foundation at Lancaster University respond to the Government's announcement on unfair dismissal changes to the Employment Rights Bill.

CSJ - Rough sleeping surges to post-pandemic high, new data reveals

28/11/2025 12:05:00

Rough sleeping has hit a new post-pandemic high, according to new official data

2025-26 Public Sector Recruitment Report