UK government to tell drinkers to cut down alcohol intake for two days every week

Drinkers in the UK are set to be advised to reduce their alcohol intake for a least two days a week to curb excessive and habitual drinking. Chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies is expected to announce is also expected to balance the recommended maximum daily intake of alcohol bringing men's intakes in line with women's as part of stringent new guidelines.

Davies has been responsible for a review of alcohol guidelines that have stayed constant for more than 20 years, but her recommendations are now expected to flag that there is now no safe limit for alcohol, according to a report in the Daily Mail. Excessive intakes of alcohol are expected to be linked to increased risk of certain cancers and other serious illnesses.

The current government guidance on alcohol consumption recommends that men should be limited to no more than 3-4 units a day – 21 units a week – and that women should drink less than that at 2-3 units a day, or 14 units a week. The updated guidelines are expected to be published later in the year.

Belfast-based stand-up comedian Neil Dougan took to Twitter and said: "New government guidelines asking drinkers to abstain from alcohol 2 days a week. That'll be yesterday and tomorrow in our house."

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said: "The chief medical officer, with advice from a group of independent experts, has reviewed current drinking guidelines. The proposals will be published in the new year."

A report from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) released in October last year said that drinking alcohol is one of the many factors that can increase the risk of fragility, dementia and disability in later life.