Kevin Dowling, The Sunday Times
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A hard-hitting advertising campaign will aim to shake middle-aged women out of their complacency towards alcohol consumption after research revealed just one large glass of wine a night could increase their risk of breast cancer by 50 per cent.
The £10m campaign, which will include an image of two wine glasses without stems to represent breasts, is designed to leave women in no doubt about the potential effects of alcohol on their health.
The move has been sparked by a Department of Health report which shows women who drink more than 14 units per week are 50 per cent more likely to get breast cancer.
It suggests alcohol consumption is implicated in around 2,000 cases of breast cancer each year as well as causing other cancers, liver damage and fertility problems in women.
Dawn Primarolo, the public health minister, said: "Women who regularly drink too much are 50 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer. And many drink too much simply because they have no idea how many alcohol units they are consuming.
"After the campaign no one will be in any doubt as to how many units they're drinking and the impact that can have on their health."
With much attention having been given to the problem of teenage binge drinking in recent years, ministers are also becoming increasingly worried by data showing a steep rise in hospital admissions of older women with conditions linked to alcohol consumption.
Increasing rates of drinking, particularly amoung the middle classes, have been blamed in part on stronger wines and the fashion for bigger wine glasses, leading to confusion over how many units each glass contains.
With one 250ml glass containing up to 3.5 units, just one each evening would put a woman well over her weekly allowance.
Ms Primarolo added: "Professional women who drink too much - but do so without causing harm to others - have for a long time gone under the radar.
"It's fair to say that most women don't know how much they're drinking.
"They don't know how many units they are drinking. And they don't know that, at 3.5 units, that large glass of Rioja they drank last night actually took them over their daily amount."
Official guidelines say women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, and men no more than 21. Half a pint of beer or lager of 3.5 per cent strength is one unit but many beers are stronger than this. Similarly, one small glass (125ml) of wine of eight per cent alcohol is one unit but most wines are now between 11 and 13 per cent.
Alcohol-related deaths have doubled in 10 years and doctors are becoming increasingly concerned at the growing number of women with liver damage, pancreatitis and cirrhosis.
Government figures show that 20 per cent of women in the UK (4.9m) consume between 14 and 35 units a week, putting them in the hazardous drinkers category.
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What people have not recongised is that alcohol induced cirhossis rates are higher in European countires like France as their overall consumption levels are higher.
However there are certainly querstions to be raised regarding the cost effectiveness of such marketing campaigns, especially when there are an increasing number of uncoordinated messages appearing.
for those of you worrying about the 'nanny state' or 'tax revenue' motivations, the fact is alcohol consumption has been steadily rising in the UK and so too have the health and socio-economic impacts. The government is right to try and address this.
james, London,
How do these studies track with those other studies that show that French and Italians live longer and healthier lives than British, despite drinking far more wine?
William Seymour, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
What a miserable country we live in, no doubt this is all grist to the taxation mill of New Labour. Last month it was 1 bacon sandwich, I wonder what it will be next month. The mind boggles as to this governments priorities (do they have shares in advertising companies) as I'm sure that £10M would be better spent on decent healthcare for those unfortunate enough to have Cancer or Alzheimer's now.
Graeme, warrington,
Let's gather together and say a big No to this nanying govt that wants to control every aspect of our lives. LEAVE US ALONE
Bob, Southport,
And as the consumer is "targeted" - again - what exactly is being done about the reason why women's drinking has risen like a tidal wave?
1980ish we had research showing that women then drank far less than men, largely because they drank at home. Female alcohol was mostly take home alcohol.
Suddenly alcohol appeared in all the supermarkets right among the veg & the bread. Instead of having to go in a special shop to buy it, now women were presented with booze to pop in the basket.
So easy. So instant, so normal. So LETHALLY easy and LETHALLY normal.
So when are we going to see a return to properly controlled alcohol sales?
Or is it just too comfortable to let women pop those bottles in the basket and pick up their money? (sales or tax)
Not forgetting of course that supermarkets are ruthlessly designed to undercut our ability to decide what WE want while in them. A campaign that relies on consumer choice has little chance. But it papers over the problem neatly.
Shan Morgain, Newport Wales, UK
Another health study showed 95% of the population are getting sick to death of unpublished and unproven health studies designed to raise more taxes.
Dave H, Sevenoaks,
"The £10m campaign ... is designed to leave women in no doubt about the potential effects of alcohol on their health."
But since the public is now inured to do-gooders wasting their money on emotive scare campaigns it will more than likely have no discernable impact whatever.
Alan Wilkinson, Russell, NZ
Actually being a normal weight teetotaller who sadly got breast cancer at the age of 36, I say to this man, who has no idea of the dramatically negative aspect of having breast cancer, that having breasts is a great thing and rather more fun and more beautiful than a glass of wine. Not only are the healthcare costs of treating people with breast cancer high but so are the costs of treating many alcohol related diseases. If higher taxes are to be used to pay for these and to act as a deterrent to binge drinkers eventhose who cause no immediate social harm, I say well done. I would give anything to have not had breast cancer, except my three children. The constant fear of recurrence, the negative body image, the 6 months of chemo and baldness, the constant health checks, inability to get life assurance, difficulties with travel insurance and so on. Stop drinking and start living!
Wallis Snow, Oxford, UK
Just one large glass of wine a night could increase my risk of breast cancer by 50 per cent eh? I'd better go back to the vodka then.
judy, Liverpool, England
Coupled with increased taxation on alcoholic beverages, this is another piece of social engineering from New Labour aimed at dampening our spirits. It is following the same principles as used by the anti-smoking activists 30 years ago. By 2030, we will be seeing the first alcohol-free public houses, and to buy a bottle of decent whisky will cost an average weekly wage. The age of the killjoy has arrived.
Dwight Vandryver, Scholar Green, Cheshire, UK
And the anti-alcohol propaganda campaign continues. According to the Cancer Research site rates for breast cancer in France and Italy are lower than in the UK, yet both those countries have far higher wine consumption. Speaking as a person who has cared for people with alcohol-induced illness and injury I can definately say none of my patients were mddle class drinkers whose alcohol consumption could be measured in less than a dozen glasses of wine a week.
I think the people who come up with these studies need to get some perspective and stop trying to draw comparisons between the light/moderate drinker. It is young women who consume a combination of wine beer and spirits on an almost daily basis that are to blame for the increase in the rates of the diseases mentioned above, not the women who enjoy a glass of wine with the evening meal.
Alex, York, UK