The British Reaction to the UK’s latest Alcohol Guidelines

Note for my expat readers – this is intended as a humorous, ‘tongue in cheek’ post, although I hope you will still find the cultural observations of value! 

For those interested in understanding the British better, I felt compelled to share with you a story that caught my attention this January. For those who missed it, the UK government issued new recommended guidelines for the consumption of alcohol, for the first time in 20 years. The recommended limit has dropped to 14 units with “several” alcohol free days per week for both men and women (previously it was suggested 3-4 units per day for men and 2-3 for women). So how did the British react and what does it tell us about them?

The initial response on social media was humorous indignation and mock outrage – how could they possibly release this information in January of all months? (widely accepted as the most depressing and cold, especially with people broke and desperately awaiting pay day after the Christmas festivities). Moreover, on a Friday? When everyone is ready to celebrate the weekend. Really, how could the government be so insensitive? Most people ironically (and knowingly) posted and tweeted to proudly confess that they were already half way through a bottle of wine and with the evening still young.  Guidelines be damned.

There was a definite rolling of the eyeballs at the news and a sense that the government was being a killjoy. Taking away our last bit of fun and means of escape. As those who already work with the British know, we can have two quite distinct personalities – our work/office self and our private/social self (which usually starts to reveal itself at the pub). Many of my expatriate clients in the UK express surprise at how their task-focused, slightly reserved British colleagues, who barely take time to chat to them, transform outside of work – or how they see another side when socialising rather than working with the Brits.

 It may sound obvious, but alcohol helps the British to relax, to let our hair down, and loosen up having remained professional all day, emotions and stress masterfully contained and repressed. Even for those Brits who are not necessarily looking to go out and get totally drunk at the end of the week (and many are), for most, a couple of beers or glasses of wine is a comforting reward for having survived another day with the kids or at the office. It’s the signal that relaxation can begin. So no wonder the general response seemed to be – don’t spoil that for us! Don’t mess with something that is so ingrained in our culture and the place we retreat to at the end of a hard day or week. I deserve a guilt-free drink or two!

The reaction almost had a feel of the ‘Us against them’ mentality that the British are also fond of (historically linked more to our class system). This, however, was something that could unite Brits from all walks of life – us against a puritan government. Likewise, it pointed to an anti-authoritarian streak with much talk of the ‘nanny-state’ patronisingly telling us what to do and interfering in our lives and its small pleasures (yes, that’s a few pints or large glasses of rioja if you weren’t sure by now).

Whilst the Brits, I would say, are actually generally fairly respectful of rules, the rules have to align with what we see as reasonable and common sense (something else the British value); but the consensus here seemed to be that the units were just not realistic. On Twitter people responded with variations of: “Are you sure?”, “Some chance!” and that it’s just “not doable”! One man amusingly tweeted: “I’ve only got 1.6 units left. Are these things tradable?”. Another lady asked whether the guidelines weren’t in fact “turning us all to drink?” (as we console ourselves in despair at such unwelcome news).  There was a definite scepticism (again, typically British) that the new guidelines would really make any difference at all.

So, in summary, the British faced this unwelcome news in true style with humour, irony, cynicism, a touch of rebellion and grumbling complaints, enjoying all the while connecting and bonding with each other over a shared misery, which we do so well. Oh, and of course, all the while with a drink in hand. Whatever your views on drinking or the guidelines, the British social media commentary was certainly entertaining!

Finally, it seems there does remain hope, however, for the British.  Spain still suggests a generous upper limit of 35 units for men and France has no guidelines at all. Time to book a flight it seems. Perhaps Europe isn’t so bad after all…. Cheers to that.