Alcohol limits a guess
A doctor who helped set safe alcohol limits has sparked controversy by admitting they were not based on any scientific basis.
Dr Richard Smith, who was part of the working group of the Royal College of Physicians, told the Times the limits were set in 1987 because of "a feeling that you had to say something".
The safe limits were set at 21 units a week for men and 14 for women.
He said: "Those limits were really plucked out of the air. They were not based on any firm evidence at all. It was a sort of intelligent guess by a committee."
Smith said the group felt pressured by the growing concerns over binge drinking.
Meanwhile, a member of the Government's Health Committee admitted you could drink safely above the recommended limits.
"Although I would still endorse the old Government limits, I would add the rider that if you step outside them within reason, it will not do you any harm," retired GP and MP Richard Taylor told the Evening Standard.
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