THE latest guidelines on drinking alcohol – or actually not drinking alcohol – are bound to be a leading topic of conversation in the pub.

The irony of that will not be lost on anyone as, like it or not, drinking is an endemic part of UK culture and little is likely to change that.

Now, the Department of Health has stated that, along with issuing revised guidelines about how much alcohol units we should consume safely in any one week, the best way is to make that none. Yes, no drinking at all.

Alongside that strong edict is the more temperate one about not drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week, which is the equivalent of six pints of average strength beer or seven glasses of wine. These update the last figures set out 21 years ago, and reflect concerns over very real health risks to alcohol consumption.

Sadly, though, by taking the most extreme stance possible, the danger may be that the advice has the opposite effect. As a representative of the independent educational organisation The Adam Smith Institute pointed out in a TV interview “the lower you set those limits, the more people will ignore them.” And they do have a point.

None of us wants to be accused by implication of being a drunkard, but that’s how many people will insist they have been made to feel by these new guidelines, particularly by the advice to give up booze completely.

It’s a fact that we’re drinking more heavily these days and that excess alcohol consumption is linked to a range of cancers and other life-threatening illnesses. These not only shorten lives but mean a huge drain on NHS resources.

At the same time, obesity levels are rising – including weight-gain from alcohol – and crime levels increase for the same reason. This all means a further drain on public services and leads to social deterioration.

So, what does the latest edict mean? I really don’t believe that the Government saying “give up drinking” will make much difference, although perhaps urging moderation might. We can work to recommended weekly levels, even if we don’t always stick to them. But it needs acknowledging that most people enjoy the occasional drink, but that they do it sensibly. Penalise those who drink too much regularly by all means, but please don’t preach abstinence to the rest of us because it won’t work.