HIQA review to inform update of low risk alcohol guidelines

The HSE low risk alcohol guidelines will be updated after HIQA completes an evidence review and modelling analysis, this newspaper has learned.

The Authority will estimate the lifetime risk of morbidity and mortality attributable to different levels and patterns of alcohol consumption in Ireland.

“The work is set to begin in the second half of 2025, with a report to be published in 2026 that will serve to inform an update of the national low risk alcohol guidelines, which aim to reduce the risks associated with alcohol consumption,” a HIQA spokesperson told the Medical Independent (MI).

The Department of Health confirmed it had “initiated” a process to update the current guidelines.

“Countries including Australia, France, and the UK have updated their guidelines through systematic reviews of the evidence, statistical modelling analyses, consultation and publication. Ireland is taking the same approach,” the Department’s spokesperson told this newspaper.

A spokesperson for Alcohol Action Ireland told MI that it has advocated for a revision of the current guidelines for some years.

“In other jurisdictions which have reviewed their guidelines they have all been revised downwards, which reflects the increasing knowledge of the harm from alcohol.”

The current recommended weekly low risk alcohol guidelines are less than 11 standard drinks for women and 17 standard drinks for men. A standard drink in Ireland includes a pub measure of spirits (35.5ml), a small glass of wine (12.5 per cent volume), and a half pint of ‘normal beer’. Drinks should be spread out over the week with two-to-three alcohol-free days, according to the guidance. The World Health Organisation’s position on alcohol consumption is that there is “no safe amount that does not affect health”.

According to the 2024 Healthy Ireland Survey, 73 per cent of individuals aged 15 or over reported consuming alcohol during the previous 12 months. This compared with 70 per cent in 2023 and 75 per cent in 2018.

There has also been an increase in the number who are considered binge drinkers from 24 per cent in 2023 to 28 per cent this year. Binge drinking is defined as having six or more standard drinks on a typical drinking occasion.

The weekly low risk alcohol guidelines were last assessed in 2015 following a review commissioned by the HSE. The HSE Alcohol Programme has since been established and now oversees the guidelines.