Alcohol guidelines in post-truth Britain

I've got an article at Spectator Health about a couple of new studies looking at moderate alcohol consumption that come to the usual conclusion.

Bearing in mind that [Sally] Davies claimed in January that whatever health benefits she grudgingly accepted only applied to old people, let’s look at the conclusion:

Our findings are generally consistent — especially for younger women — with an accumulating body of research demonstrating positive associations between moderate alcohol use and health, even after accounting for abstainer bias.

Looks like another two studies can be added to the massive body of evidence showing the same thing.

Smart people, those old wives.

A couple of hours after the article went live the government quietly released the official new alcohol guidelines (c/o the UK Temperance Alliance) which contains such gems as...

That the net benefits from small amounts of alcohol are less than previously thought (with substantial uncertainties around the level of protection) and are significant in only a limited part of the population. That is women over the age of 55, for whom the maximum benefit is gained when drinking around 5 units a week, with some beneficial effect up to around 14 units a week

Post-truth Britain indeed.