Even the heaviest drinkers in this particular survey look like amateurs when compared to British ex-pats in the south of France. Many of them drink way beyond social limits on a daily basis, 365 days a year. Many also drink and drive.

GB, Provence, France

I picked up a bottle of Special Reserve Tesco Scotch Whisky (not a drop is drunk till it’s six weeks old) at my local cut-rate supermarket yesterday. Something of a surprise to find this product in the Japan Alps. Good value at around £3.50 for a 70cl bottle. Were I in the slightest concerned with, "Guidelines daily amounts for average adults", I would have great difficulty calculating the recommended safe daily amount sober, far less after the third triple whisky and soda. There is a 1.0-unit mark in a circle, which presumably should be read in conjunction with “Units of alcohol per 25ml serving (1 unit = 10ml alc)” in a literally minute font. As the label indicates 40% by volume, perhaps 25ml (2.5cl) needs to be multiplied by 2.5, as the maximum daily amount for men is 3-4 units. Think "does in me 'ead" is the expression used. If only the advisory message read, "Men: do not consume content of bottle in less than three days", Women: In less than five days". Bit late to worry about that now as I'm two-thirds through a bottle I opened yesterday afternoon.
However this does indicate the folly of referring to alcoholic beverage as alcohol. Were I drinking alcohol rather than alcoholic beverage I’d be pushing up the daisies sooner rather than later.

Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan Alps

Perhaps I've missed something but once we all give up smoking and drinking, where is the government going to get it's extortionate taxes from? Oh yes - fuel! Save the Planet!

CP, Warks, UK

Wine TV channel, Wine magazines, Cheap wine offers in supermarkets, which wine with which food, its no wonder we're victims of all this marketing.

MikeW, M,

it is my suspicion that for most people that 3 units for women and 4 for men per day is fine.

I suspect the issue is that MANY more affluent types are in fact drinking much more than that. The government has cottened on to this and is using scare tactics to try to mitigate what it sees as an alcohol related epidemic in years to come.

Probably not a bad idea to do so, and it's not difficult to get the medical left leaning professors etc. on board.

It would interest me greatly if someone published any correlating evidence which linked alcohol related illnesses to the geographic areas of runnymede et al.

I suspect both general health and alcohol related illness rates in these areas are well below the national average.

In which case, is there evidence of an increase in alcohol consumption by the well off middle classes?

To my mind they have always drunk wine which is more a middle class drink than beer, along with gin and brandy.

richard williams, weybridge, surrey

Hope this advice is followed by all who drink in the House of Commons Bars.

Chris, Hinxworth,

Whether someone dies at 60 from liver disease or cancer or at 80 from Alzheimer does not make that much difference to TOTAL NHS-costs. Accidents aside, most health-costs spent on ANY person usually are spent within the last few years of life...

Soon to be published:
" Research has shown that 100% of BIRTHS are sure to lead to (childhood) ILLNESSes in the short run and CERTAIN DEATH at a later age... As the NHS can't cope with this, the government has decided to levy a tax on BIRTHS (to recoup what it is loosing out on DEATH-TAX...)... "

It may be time to get rid of the Puritans...

Dionysos, London, UK

As I have said before, living leads to death.
We can go through a monks life & live to 120, but wheres the fun in that.
Also, why dont all of these "do gooders" who want everyone to live forever, ever give us the bigger picture of what life will be like when we all live past 100, I think it would be a pretty crowded & nasty world to live in.

Pete Fone, St Albans, England

Nanny state! Isn't it time for us to decide what's best for us? Deep down, don't we all really know that everything in moderation is the most sensible stance?

Have they ever considered why people drink "so much"?

Sascha, London,

Yes we do, so what - we pay for everything though our taxes, so we should be allowed to do what we want, in any event you should all realise that this is just another attempt to raise tax. All Thatchers good work at reducing government spending as a percentage of GDP has gone down the drain......what a waste

mark , liverpool, uk

i honestly think the middle class does drink too much and that is the shame of it because they dont have to put up with the problems the lower class has to put up with like stavation even though they are working.

tia stone, hamilton , tx

I shall drink as much as i choose, and anyone who tells me otherwise will get smoke blown in their face. I am sick of being told what to do.

ben francis, Braintree, essex

It is some relief of course that the politicians who are proscribing alcohol are such a shining example of restraint with alcohol, I have been told that you will never see any of them drinking more than a large glass of wine a day in the bars of the Houses of Parliament, we should all follow their very plausible example and give up something that brings only misery to the entire adult population of the Northern Hemisphere.

Perhaps a ban on cheese should follow?

William , Central London, (still) Great Britain

I just got back from the UK after a 2 week vacation and the amount of drinking and the attitude towards it I found depressing. Openly drunk people staggering around where I was staying in Paddington, and reading the magazines I found that in interviews young women in particular seemed to think it was funny and "en vogue" to be drunk.

Drunkenness is nothing but annoying. Public drunkenness is annoying and threatening. I was kept awake half the night one evening by some young man screaming at the top of his lungs under my hotel window.

Drunk? What do you think?

Cynthia, Burbank, California

The British have gone from people who never complained to a nation of whiners. I make no apology for the smoking ban, many countries did it before UK, thank god I won't have to endure smokers' lack of consideration any more. This is sadly at the cost of litter, as once a cig is smoked it is not their responsibilty any more is it, and gets dropped where they stand, or tossed out of the car window.
Now we have whines about the right to scoff and drink one's self to death. At the expense of the rest of us of course. The NHS does not refuse anyone.
If the obese had to insure themselves privately we would her them screaming that the insurers won't cover them due to their lifestyle.
The rot in this country is self indulgence and lack of self discipline and self respect. You can see it on the street every day.
In WW2 the British were at the healthiest they had ever been.
Why not try to get back to the lean and mean fighting machine we once were. Show some pride for heavens sake

billcarr, turku, finland

My grandfather drank all his life. He died in his late 70's after a heart attack. My grandmother died in her early 90s after years of decreasing mobility and increasing senility and requests to be "put down" because you wouldn't make a dog live on in her condition. From seeing her "quality of life" I don't want to carry on that long, and busy body know it alls can live on for years of depression, I'll have a drink and go before that happens.

Claire, Reading, UK

The Government will jump on the bandwagon. Its a good excuse to raise taxes - already higher here than in most of Europe.

Geoff Nield, Nottingham, UK

First it was the Big Mac, now my glass (or 2 or 3) of wine? The U.S. government is just as meddlesome, believe me! I sat at a school board meeting once where the Food Services Dept. gave a spiel on healthy eating and how they would mandate that parents serve healthy fare 24 by 7. The two women who stood up to give this information were FAT! And I don't mean "Bridget Jones" shapely, I mean FAT! So believe me, I'm sure the people writing up this latest and greatest threat to the middle class (wine), probably went home to their two bottles of wine once they clicked "save" on their article. Give me a break---oh, and hand me the corkscrew....

Ali, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Puzzled that the emphasis is on middle-lass vice:
the "harmful" figures (more than twice the "hazardous" groups units per week) are all in easily identified working-class areas.

So the actual data amounts to: middle classes drink less dangerously than working classes. Where is the news story here?

godric, Working class Newport,

I was a non-smoker for 48 of my 52 years, including the last 25 years, but I had to start again in protest at the governments meddling.

Now I am going to have to increase my drinking from 2 glasses of wine a week to couple of bottles a day.

Or maybe I'll just escape from this miserable, politically correct, mess of a country, and let it go to hell without me.

Dim Prawn and your New Labour cronies. Get off my and everyone elses back.

Tom, Chorley, Lancs, UK

I have been under the impression for the last 20 years or so that it was good for your health to have a couple of glasses of red wine a day . I mean literally two and not 3 or 4 .
To state in a new report that above one glass a day can be bad for you really makes me wonder about the origin of the report , and the medical qualifications of the people who have published the report .
To state in public that all of a sudden we are all to start drinking half what we have been drinking needs to be explained a lot further . I would like to hear the National Health Services official view of this new report .
To suggest that drinking more than one glass of wine a day would be bad for your health does not seem right .
I feel certain that a lot more is going to be made known in the coming weeks .
Perhaps we should all get a daily allowance from the government after alcohol has been made an controlled substance .
CHEERS for now ,

SImon The Brit

Simon G Bentley, JOSHUA TREE , CALIFORNIA, USA

Once again this article and others on this subject ignore more costly and dangerous long-term effects of excessive alcohol: depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders.

It's also a surprise that the figures above do not match those for alcohol-related A+E admissions, where the North East (Newcastle, Middlesborough) scores much higher.

In the end it's like the obesity 'crisis'. Government moans about it, and then there's Nigella Lawson cooking up the fattiest and most sugary concoctions on telly while the UK orders a Domino's pizza.

Leon, North West, UK

Ok - so you can't smoke a cigarette in a pub, whilst waiting for a bus, or in fact anywhere which has 3 walls and a roof; and now I'm not allowed to have a glass of wine in the evening once I have completed the hour and a half slog across the 2 miles of central London to my (shared) home. This after I've spent 9 hours a day working in order to pay a third of my wages in NI and taxes (with an extra £70 - £100.00 being deducted to 'pay off' my student loan, or - as I recently discovered - to earn the Inland Revenue some interest whilst they 'hold it' for me as my interest increases).
I can't afford to get my own place inLondon because apparently foreign / commuter business people earning 10 times my wage are more important than those who were born and raised in this city.

Fair enough - I know a good crack dealer instead.

AfedupLondoner, London,

As usual over reaction from ill informed protesters.
I do not see anyone telling people how to live their lives. What I see is advice on how to stay healthy. It is not so long ago we were told that a glass of wine a day was good for us, a couple of glasses with an evening meal is not so bad as M Lumley suggests (any relation to wonderful Joanna)
I get really annoyed by people talking about totalitarian states. It is a pity we can't send people to sample life there any more. It shows a profound ignorance. In any case the Russian and Poles were notorious for their excess drinking under Communism. The reason we have this research and legislation is because people do not seem to know how to behave with restraint anymore, many are totally irresponsible.
It is strange how it is a Nanny state when it tries to keep people healthy, but not a Nanny state when it spends 20 billion a year on alcohol induced illness

billcarr, turku, finland

Charts are wonderful aren't they? However, that aside, I think it would be very useful for all bottled and canned alcohol to have the alcohol and calorie content of it. I probably drink too much, but socially, and definately not before food intake. I would think I was an average person.

Alan, Midlands,

Readers might be interested to know that according to the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score Ms Primarolo's speeches are understandable to the average 17–18 year old. It is probably just those of the age of 18 and over who have difficulty making sense of them.

John Anthony, London,

Okay, i give up. Lets all stop smoking,drinking,driving,flying and eating sugary treats.


Now whos going to pay to run the country.....?

mark Hulton, Stoke on Trent, UK

Drinking in certain public pace is banned already in Scotland. However, I intend to stick to the govenrment limits for units consumed averaging it out over my whole life including 18-20 abstemious early years.

Neil, Elgin, UK

Possibly the Government's concern is that the high earning middle class drinkers will die early and therefore not be in a position to provide the taxes that this government continues to squander. It could however solve the pensions problem!

Nigel Proctor, Lapford,

There is a difference between making people aware of the dangers of a p[articualr action and 'telling them what to do'. I dislike the choice of words used - but it must surely be worth making people aware of dangers that they may not have seen for themselves. Most of the contributors to this message board would be the first to complain if they felt that they had not been given the facts to 'make an informed choice'. Please go ahead and drink yourselves and smoke yourselves into terminal illness - that is your choice and I hope you and I will always be free to make it. Just don't block up the hospital bed I may need, or waste NHS resources I want, because you saw it as your right to insist on doing as you like. Make your choice and accept the consequences.

Phil Jones, Lincoln,

Last night my firm picked up work from a fight outside an "all night off licence" - yes, it was a new one on me too. This ridiculous government needs to think about consistent policies - buy booze 24 hours a day and then lecture adults about modest drinking at home? Absurd.

DT, Liverpool, UK

In case of politically correct, stealth tax driven, scare 'em so they vote for you, Stalinist dictum, break open a bottle of scotch and break out a straw, this makes it go very blurry(end of problem)
This allows ME to live MY life(with the menial funds the totalitarians allow me to have) rather than getting roped in to this political dictation.

If all else fails pretend to be a immigrant who has been here for 15 years and can not speak english, they will not bother you then!

Steve, Rochester, Kent

The time has come for interfering busybodies such as Dawn Primarola to stop telling us how to spend our lives. I have been drinking at least three glasses of whisky each evening for about forty years, and I am depressed to learn that I live in an area - East Dorset - which has the lowest percentage of 'problem drinkers'. I shall have to increase my intake just to spite the wretched woman and her researchers.
Heaven preserve us from do-gooders!

John Girling, Sherborne, England

we are adoptive parents with 2 children born with fetal alchol syndrome they did ask too have this for the rest of their lifes nor do the 5000 kids born in the UK every year. sad thing is the goverment Knows ,See webb . House of lords lord hansards reports search Foetal alchol syndrome and read about the UKs silent secret , We are failing them as most are undiagnosed. and have a hell of a life. My child has learning problems . hole in her heart . nervouse system problems and many more. But its 100% preventable. Just do not drink in pregnancy as there in NO SAFE LIMIT take it from me. Most children have the Effect syndrome and have learning problems and/or behaviour problems , as one said too me why do i do these things i cant understand it , But with a diagnosis and help and public recognition these many many thousands of our children in our schools to day could be helped. Thse figures are World Health Org official figures

Unhappy dad, Bath,

Charles Moore of Cumbria is spot-on. My dear neighbour has just died at 90 (no, Ms Primarolo, no, NOT of an alcohol-related illness), and she was an enthusiastic drinker all her life (she came from a services background, and her late husband was in the RAF). Until recently she drove to very liquid lunches (and back), and my fear for her was that she would bump into another car and get breathalysed and lose her licence, thus greatly curtailing her spendidly active social life. But God was kind to her - he did not have her prosecuted for driving while under the influence, but let her die in her sleep. I'm sad she's dead, but damned glad she enoyed life to the full, right to the last. One of my happiest memories of her will always be downing about four jugs of Pimm's with her in her garden one long summer afternoon a few years back. So don't let the miserable killjoys stop people like her enjoying alcohol, especially when she drank far more units than 15 units a week AND lived to be 90!

JF, Canterbury, UK

The wine calculations show a "unit" as 1 ml.of alcohol. I have always understood a "unit" to be 10 ml., and weekly limit for men 27 units. Is this just HMG panic-spin as per Tony? I would welcome correct figures. 2 bottles most weeks, sometimes more, nothing wrong so far! At 13% alcohol,18.5 units or 185?

Nigel Earle, Norhtampton, England

The most worrying thing about this article is the statement by the Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo, "This has to change.” Even though I'm a non-smoker I thought the smoking ban in pubs and clubs was going too far and this threatens far worse to come. It may be foolish to drink three units of alcohol a day, but it is none of the governments business if I do. It may mean I need medical attention one day; but I'm likely to need it for something, someday however healthy a life I lead. Besides, I've paid my NI contributions so I'm entitled to the health care.

Andrew Green, Shepton, UK

Is this because so many "middle class" drinkers have been complaining about the youngsters' binge drinking? As long as people drink in a civilised way and are not over the limit if driving, or safely at home so we do not have to pay the cost of clearing up the disgusting mess, leave them alone. The damage to their health is nothing compared to the expense of HIV, VDs, drug abuse and crime caused by drug takers.

Roz Venner, St Neots, England

What do you expect from a Labour Government?

Eddie , Croosgates, Radnor County

In very many comments to this article, I read the word "nanny" and "nanny state" often. So many new terms pass into everyday english and lose their original meaning quickly. "Nanny" has an unavoidable connotation to Mary Poppins, governess - and being generally educated and "looked after", whether you want it or not. For "nanny" I read totalitarianism, dictatorship and the subtle, irreversible subjugation of a once proud and dignified people. The well-paid do-gooder industry is not so gently prodding us all in that direction. In my day, "1984" was required reading at school. I wonder if it´s still the same today, or is it no longer politically correct? Good luck, Britain

Winston Smith, Hamburg, Germany

Here come the health fascists again. I wonder if the New Labour MPs read these blogs and see how they are becoming resented. I see there are now adverts on TV about global warming, smoking etc - this is simple propaganda, attempts at behavioural control as indicated in 1984. Time for this dreadful government with its authoritarian leanings to go.

Ian Burgess, Bristol,

Heavy drinker for @ least 20yrs. had a liver test recently , why did it come back negative?

sara karamouzis, Penarth, vale of glamorgan

Perhaps it would be a good idea to actaully read the Executive Summary of this report which is published on the Internet. It does not seem to mention these terrible problems in the affluent SE at all. If there is such a terrible problem why was not commented on in the Executive Summary.
The following questions need to be answered.
1. Why when the report clearly shows that the areas with the worst drinking problems are the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber and West Midlands does Dr Tocque seem to concentrate on the Soth East and the 'Middle Classes'?
2. Why doe this all hit the headlines in October, whenthe report was published in August?

Is there a political agenda here? This follows another 'shock horror' report on obesity and both are pushing the view that the public are to blame for all their illnesses. The previous health horror was the news of all the patients killed by the NHS by unsanitory conditions in a hospital. Is someone trying to deflect our attention?

C Mitchell, Walton-on-Thames,

"I drink heavily to forget"
"Forget what?"
"I dunno, I've forgotten."

Variation of Spike Milligan/Goon Show gag. The old jokes are the best.

Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan Alps

Either spend your youth as a drooling imbecile in covered in your own vomit - or do it later in a "care" home.

Mark Gilbert , oldham,

Michael Strelitz from London: Almost every bar and even pub serve 250ml glasses now. They shelter under the name of "large glasses". The 175ml glasses are called "regular" - not "small", which is a forbidden word nowadays because of its negativity. A task for you: try to find a corporation which sells "small" beverages. This coming from a culture which is trying to suppress our consumption.

Sarah Phillips, Angers, France

i and my husband enjoy a glass or wine or 2 with our evening meal and any goverment who think they can change that have really lost the plot, and my vote. No one should vote ant the next election that will fool the pratts! enjoy .p.s i cant remember the last time i had a hangover i should try for 2 bottles a nite see if that helps!

ali, DUDLEY, u.k.

The graph that accompanied this article shows how futile, and inconvenient, any significant new measures would be. Despite an explosion in the number of cars and journeys, the death toll has fallen significantly since 1970. This shows that measures such as breath tests and seatbelts, along with safer car performance and designs, have had a worthwhile impact. But as economists would say, diminishing marginal returns have set in. The rate of fall in the death toll has levelled off. Even very intrusive and unreasonable measures will produce only small further reductions. It is often said that every life lost is worth saving - but to do that we should either not drive at all, or do so at 4 mph; where shouldould the line be drawn? In truth, we have almost reached the line.

David M, Kent,

Thanks god they didn’t rate a shot of tequila or a dose of pure malt.

Andre Araujo de Oliveira, Vitoria, Brazil / ES

OK, so why don't the government just ban the following due to the hazards to health:
Drinking
Smoking
Driving
Flying
Working
Walking
Breathing ( I recall reading an article that by breathing we produce some form of gas which contributes to global warming)
In fact, why don't the goverment just cancel life? That way the precious NHS will be able to cope with the numbers of people they keep letting in to ponce off the economy!

Claire, Berkshire,

I see that the cost of hazardous drinking effects on the NHS is a major concern. As there seem to be unlimited funds available to waste on studies, may I suggest one focusing on the role the NHS plays in driving people to drink?

Manfred, Reading,

Who Cares. The low drinking areas just smoke dope instead!

Neil, Birmingham, U.K

Does this mean the end of "Champagne Socialists"?

Stev, Preston, Uk

I drink to forget.
To forget the strictures of this ghastly government and the hectoring countenance of the appaling Dawn Primarolo.
Is there no end to the interference in people's private lives by this socialist oligarchy?
Let them go hang!

Jim Carr, Bospham, UK

"The figures will be used by the Government to target middle-class wine drinkers and to make drunkenness as socially unacceptable as smoking."

This coming from a government that brought in 24 hour drinking. But, heh, that's OK - as they can fine anyone found drunk on the streets.

Bottom line - government doesn't mind you getting drunk and/or mis-behaving as long as you're willing to pay.

So, I assume we'll be having street wardens (shades of old style communist countries) ringing your doorbell and imposing a fine if you're drunk at home.

CB, Epsom, England

Why not just stop drinking entirely? Wont that clear up any confusion? Its a very simple solution.

John Smith, Edinburgh,

Runnymede 26.4 , Harrogate 26.4 etc.
Very precise figures. Can someone explain how they are known?

David Montague, Wedmore, Somerset, UK

Perhaps someone should tell Ms Primarolo,who has presided over countless messed up financial matters doing the will of Gordon Brown, that we are GROWN-UPS, and don't appreciate these impertinent comments from our public servants (Ha,Ha! - not how they see themselves,obviously!)

kay, leeds,

Quick!

Move the health debate away from how the government can't even keep hospitals clean. McStalin's 'tax and waste' has failed to deliver, even when coupled with massively expensive, incompetent micromanagement

How about sorting out the drunks on the streets before lecturing people capable of making their own decisions?

Hang on, that would be tricky, wouldn't it? Let's ignore them and find an easier target

Get lost nulabour, get your snout out of my business (and my wallet)

Paul, Exeter, UK

If thisa study was anything but rubbish the French and other wine-drinking Europeans would have a life-expectancy of about 30.

Who gives money to these people to produce this nonsense?

Roger Tilbury, Worthing, England

Well Mikes cross. And I know how he feels. Here in Devon, the news that everyone in the country is a lush has been supplemented by a load of ecologists telling us that we shouldn't eat so much meat or dairy produce. Considering that Devon & Cornwall produce some of the best meat and dairy products in the country, and our economy is built on farming, I suspect this advice will fall on deaf ears.

Diane , South Brent,

It is entirely true. I used to do it, many of my friends still do. People think it's all about having a good time but have you seen how they look when they get into their 50s? It's supposed to be all about the good life but when you become terminally ill life is far from good.

Frances Ive, Coulsdon, Surrey

I shall ride bycle to Sainsbury's, purchase for myself a corkscrew and a bottle of Merlot, forsake my plae ale and rejoice in my aspirational shortcut to the Middle Classes,
Salute'

Lois Crofton, Tunbridge, Snobbington

Why can't the busybodies just leave people alone to get on with their lives. I'm sure that studdies like this cause more harm through stress than they do good. How much did this study cost and who paid for it?

Mark Sheppard, Retford, Nottinghamshire

So, now we drink too much;
as well as eating too much,
smoking too much and
watching too much TV.
We don’t take enough exercise,
speed too much in our cars and
take too many flights.

I wonder, does our NAGGING state consider we do anything right?

Joëlle van Tinteren, Newton Abbot, Devon

A 250ml glass of wine. That's a third of a bottle. Where do they serve those?

Michael Strelitz, London,

For thousands of years wine has been regarded as one of the good things in life, something to relax us, cheer us up and help us enjoy ourselves. Now, suddenly, it's the latest in a long line of stories to scare us about our health. Targeting binge drinking in pubs is understandable because people spill out on to the street and cause disturbance, or worse, to the public. But how people live in their own homes, short of violence, is no business of the government. By the way, who are the North West Public Health Observatory, who pays them, and how did they arrive at these area-by-area figures?

Barry, Wallington, UK

There seems a discrepancy here as the recommended limit for women was revised from as 14 units to 14-21 units a while ago. This report classes anything above 15 as hazardous not anything above 21 units, and so overstates the prevalence.
Most people would not consider one large glass ( 3 units) a day to be excessive and I don't think there is much evidence of harm at this level

sigrid gibson, guildford,

So the boroughs of London with the largest Muslim populations have the lowest amount of drinkers. Staggering Reseach from Liverpool John Moores. Give that man/woman a PhD.

Patrick, London,

As ever, we get a load of statistics, a nannying statement from a Minister and precious little common sense.
I refuse to believe that a couple of glasses of Reserva Rioja, sipped leisurely over a couple of hours to accompany a well-balanced meal, have the same adverse impact on the digestive organs as the same units in alcopops, absent-mindedly thrown down the throat into an empty stomach together with a bagful of salt-laden crisps shaped out of extruded potato flour, and all within minutes.

Martyn Lumley, Wirral,

As an Elmbridge resident these statistics would show that my neighbours are all drinking at dangerous levels. My neighbours also have some of the most highly paid and demanding careers. They are also fighting to get their children into the best private schools at 11+ and 13+ because there aren't any good grammar schools on the doorstep. Which as they are the ones paying 40% tax for education and band H council tax is rather ironic. Besides after watching Nigella Express( guide to middle class obesity) you need a drink- which is surely better than NIgella's midnight snack of donut eggy bread dipped in sugar and smothered in sugar and strawberry syrup.

Helen Waller, Oxshott, Surrey

Who the hell is she to tell me how to live my life?
Well, UK is becoming a sort of Soviet Union where the government is telling every citizen how to think, what to think, what to do, what not to do etc. None of their business!

Ivan Paul, London,

labour's major contribution to British life since gaining power is the rise of the busy body culture and the busy body state.

Socialists always thinik they know better than the rest of us and its their duty (and right) to order us around. Its at the heart of socialism.

Neil Murphy, cromer,

The figures at the bottom would be a lot more useful and relevant if they were figures for the whole of the UK and not just England.

Gareth Dowling, Belfast,

More often than not, we are told of the dangers of drinking. But, a week or so ago Sky News informed us that Britons are drinking less than before...a whole half a litre of lager less per week than the previous year. Then a few days back it was declared that a glass of wine per day for pregnant women is ok. Now we are told social drinking (for the hard working middle classes, no less) is decidedly dodgy.

Can we please have some clarity.

Reminds me of Nehru and Gandhi. Nehru said "Idleness (or was it laziness?) is our biggest enemy. Gandhi said "we must learn to love our enemy".

Who (or what) is one expected to follow?

Rajesh Mehta, Nairobi, Kenay

Sounds to me like an increase in the duty on wine is in the offing - for the benefit of our health of course!

Ralph Lunt, Runnymede, Surrey

I am 63. I definitely drink more than the crazy guidelines laid down. Why? Because nothing in my life has given me such a sense of wellbeing. Without alcohol I couldn't have coped with myriads of problems I have had to contend with in life. I have treated alcohol with respect as I have seen it destroy lives of people who couldn'y handle it. I like to think I have shown my children how to handle it. It can be your greatest friend and your worst enemy. But give me a break - I can't bear being lectured to by people who seem to have no understanding of the reality that is Life! Let everyone enjoy drinking - at 63, I have found nothing better! Cheers!

John Collins, Eastbourne, East Sussex

it seems that you can drink inside of the drink/driving laws every day, say 1 1/2 pints of beer and still drive and still be in the hazardous levels of alcohol consumption. the major costs of alcohol abuse in the NHS and to the police is clearing up after weekend drinking/fighting. No one drinking at a level still deemed safe for driving every day is a hazard to anyone. this is about abuse, yes, abuse of power by this marxist inspired government who want to judge on every aspect of society. then dream up a way of taxing or excluding the people from services.

Ian, Hassi Messaoud, Algeria

Soon this goverment will impose a "corkage tax" in your own home!

david , Richmond, UK

A slow-news-day story if ever I heard one.

This nation has been drinling like it does since the days of the Vikings and we certainly aren't going to let some holier-than-thou Minister tell us not to.

This government is trying to nanny us to such an extent that all our personal freedoms and choices can be controlled, taxed and eventually outlawed (like smoking)

Please, give us the chance to get rid of this government!

David, Hatfield, England

So short term problems of drinking include possibly assaulting someone - sorry, but isn't that a huge insult to all the millions of us out there that can have a drink and even get drunk without feeling the need to go and hit someone while we're under the influence.

Not everyone in this country is a mindless thug - most of those that start fights when drunk are, and would just as easily start those fights when sober in my opinion.

P.S. Totally agree with all the other comments too - this joke of a government are clearly planning to tax booze more heavily.

Alex, London,

I have a dull wife and only four channels on the telly -
that's why I get drunk every night.

Michael John Leonard, Waterlooville,

do we adult drinkers really need Dawn Primarolo telling is that "this has to stop"? Who is she to tell us? I want the government to stop tying to run my life and tell me what to do...if I want to drink a bottle of wine a night why shouldnt I be allowed to?

roger lane, cardiff, south wales

"New spin points to more tax on liquor". Well done
Ellyssa from Brighton. Obviously Ms Primarolo was paving the way for Mr Darling, as spokesman for the PM, to raise duty on alcohol "for our own good". Perhaps it will be directed at the problem of alcohol abuse as effectively as the additional £10 airport duty tax was targeted towards saving the environment? I wonder.....

gerrie, london, UK

Can't drink ,can't smoke, even watching telly is frowned on.

Why do we bother?

JonB, Glasgow, UK

"Dawn Primarolo, the Public Health Minister, said: “Most of these are not young people, they are ‘everyday’ drinkers who have drunk too much for too long. This has to change.”"

The Labour Government's Holier-Than-Thou attitude in a nutshell.

Drive this fast, don't smoke that, don't drink this, don't eat that, fill out this form,....

You are free! You are Free to do as we tell you!

For the first time ever I'm glad my Grandfather is dead because I wouldn't want him to see what the country he fought for has become. Let me out. Please.

J. Wilkes, Gloucester, ebgland

As my fatheer used to say "Too much of anything is good for NO man". When ones drinking interferes with others i.e. driving, WALKING, vomiting, swearing or being abusive in any way should constitute a criminal offence; no questions asked. The same should apply with drug takers.

Jim Tomlinson, S, UK

It would be nice if the government could stop trying to damage the livelyhoods of those working in the alcohol trade. Pubs such as mine rely on people having a drink or two after work during the week to keep the business going throughout the quieter winter period. If people want to have a couple of glasses of wine a day, let them. I'd rather they spent the money more constuctively on younger people binge drinking and bringing the trade into disrepute. Let me and my more mature drinkers get on with it!

Ed, Brecon, Powys

"Social drinkers ... will be told they risk damaging their health"

and governments who tell voters how to live their lives will be told to piss off.

William McIlhagga, Ilkley,

One article telling us that it's fine to drink a glass of wine a day when pregnant, one article telling us that drinking one glass of wine a day is hazardous for women. Give people real information that they can trust and then let them make their own decisions.

Jenny, London,

Well, I suppose we all need to die of something.

New Labour's binge taxing of middle class drinkers will most likely prove equally detrimental to their life expectancy.

Julia D, London,

It is obvious that the youthful binge is just an extreme variant of general cultural behaviour. It might be quite hard to break the pattern of to have fun is to get drunk. If there is a public health agenda for alcohol, surely it has to start with the institutions: zero tolerance for drunk behaviour; forfeitting of university degrees if caught drunk more than three times per year (lack of professional behaviour) and policing of business - no more topple on business accounts or, for that matter, during work as is the practice for Friday afternoon in so many offices. Just ask Muslim workers about the drinking culture in their workplace... What people choose to do in their homes is much harder to police.

Fred Caprivi, Manchester,

I see this is being announced by Dawn Primarolo. After so many years as witchhunter general gunning for small businesses here she goes again. I'm sorry, but it's just impossible to take anything she says at all seriously.

Bob, Wellington, Somerset

Clearly this is a spin to give them a reason to raise tax on wine

christopher mark ames, liverpool, uk

One can't see the government pushing this one for very long - there's huge tax revenues in alcohol sales, MP's are not widely known as teetotal, and it might lose votes in alcohol ridden marginals. Anyway, what is forgotten here, is the good that alcohol can do. Innumerable of my acquaintances at the Alcohol Appreciation and Study Society (of which I am a tasting member) owe their longevity, brightness of intellect, and rant stamina, to a wee dram on a regular basis.

john problem, london,

I'd like to tell Dawn Primarolo that it's the constant barrage of nonesense like this that has driven me to drink.

Pass the corkscrew, quickly, I've finished my cornflakes.

Bill Rispin, Hessle, UK

Michael, New York - you DON'T pay their wages, your not in the UK.

Mike, London - they ARE trying to fix the NHS. Do you know how much it costs the NHS to tackle problems caused by alcohol? if that was removed for the equation, the service would be able to focus on other issues such as cancer, heart disease and accidents (all of which, incidentally, would be lower without the alcohol abuse) and we'd have a fantastic NHS.

Greg, Manchester,

The government seems to forget that all the targetted social groups are also voters.

bruce, cereste,

First we are told that a glass of wine a day is good for your heart and now we are told that it is bad for our health! The sugar and butter situations all over again? Ignore the warnings and do everything in moderation - a little of what you fancy does you good.

Lyn , Colchester,

They're going to put the exact amounts of units on the side of the drinks containers?

Its going to go manic at University. I know there will be challenges to drink the most, but now we won't have to mess about working out units - They'll already be calculated! Easy to work out the winner!

John, Winchester, Hants

Isn't it odd that the areas with the highest levels of "hazardous drinking" have far higher levels of life expectancy than the areas with the lowest levels of "hazardous drinking".

This would suggest to me that the study is a load of crap.

Ian Jones, London,

It will be patriotic if the affluent drink themselves to an early death and reduce pressure upon pensions, elderly care and jobs for the young. The Government should promote early death through excessive drinking in the middle aged as an alternative to the misery of cancer and dementia we are bound to suffer as we strive for eternal life. We can see from today's headlines that the elderly ( in their 60's) are not appreciated and are in the way of the young and thrusting.

Charles Moor, Cumbria,

So, you shouldnt binge drink because thats bad for you and you shouldnt have a few drinks because thats bad for you as well. I can see where this is going. First there will be advertising campaigns warning you of the dangers, then warnings on cans, bottles and beer pumps then guess what we get from britains biggest nanny, a drinking ban!!!

JT, Leeds,

Hmmmm, anybody else think that Chancellor Darling is preparing to tack a whole lot of tax on booze? It's slightly disheartening that the spin now precedes the news in such a transparent fashion and that the chinless, drooling rabble that constitute Britain's media now lap it up so unquestioningly. Surely the story should be, "New spin points to more tax on liquor".

Ellyssa, Brighton,

They can say what they like , they wont be around for long .

Benzo, Nr Chelmsford,

'Safe' alcohol levels are figures plucked from thin air, the figure changing for each country in the EU. The size of a unit of alcohol is smaller in the Uk than most other countries and the number of units that the government have decided is 'safe' is smaller in the Uk than most other countries. Do other countries think that they have a probem with drinking 1 glass of wine a day? Dawn Primarolo obviously has far too much time on her hands and needs to get a proper job if she feels that drinking a bottle of wine a week equals being a problem drinker. This could, of course, be leading to a massive increase in duty on wine at the next budget, so build up your wine cellar while you have the chance.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

Its a worrying trend that all the reports commisioned by the government always appear to be telling us that whatever we do are bad for us, and that the NHS won't be able to cope in years to come! I for one am sick and tired of the government imposing its opinions regarding smoking, drinking, driving and even what food I should eat, it has not escaped my notice that certain ethnic religions of course won't be affected by these new laws, as they are allowed to neither drink, smoke or eat red meat, maybe I'm being paranoid or maybe the laws are being changed for another reason rather than health!

Les, Southport, England

I don't pay these people's wages so they can tell me how to live my life.

Michael, New York, USA

Re-read paragraph 4 above and then ask yourself; how long will it be before drinking in a public place is banned in Britain? Next year safe drinking limits on cans and bottles, doctors suggesting warnings in pubs and restaurants ........ it happened to cigarettes and smokers.

It wont be long until the sign at City Airport has to be amended to say 'Welcome to smoke and alchol free Britain'.

However, when everyone has been shamed enough to give up both smoking and drinking (so they can live to a ripe old age in the wonderful NHS hospitals?) who will be paying all the additonal taxes currently levied on those dreadful ex-smokers and ex-drinkers?

Pat Thornton, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

I like that, "Social drinkers will be told" line. It's almost, but not quite, as obnoxious as news the Government will "target middle-class wine drinkers". Why doesn't the Government focus on, ooh, fixing the NHS, or the schools it has systematically destroyed, or it's habit of murdering foreign gentlemen far off lands? Quite frankly, I've heard enough from the nanny state on just about every subject under the sun. This "Government" is cordially invited to pucker up and kiss my backside.

MIke, London,