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Monday, October 19, 2009

Knowledge of drinking guidelines does not equal sensible drinking
The Lancet, Volume 374, Issue 9697, Page 1242, 10 October 2009

The report Reducing alcohol harm: health services in England for alcohol misuse concluded that the UK's current approach to alcohol-related policy, prevention, and treatment is ineffective and uncoordinated.

Among the recommended platforms for action were revision of policies for the pricing and promotion of alcohol, mandatory labelling, and revised sensible drinking guidelines. The focus on clear labelling and guidance carries with it the assumption that providing such information and facilitating its comprehension will reduce irresponsible drinking behaviour.

In our opinion, such efforts are not sufficient to affect drinking behaviour; to demonstrate this, we explored the relation between drinking behaviour and knowledge of sensible drinking guidelines in a sample of medical students at a London institution.

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