Dr. John Holmes:

That is a difficult question. The point in setting out units is largely to help the public understand the quantities they drink because drinks have different strengths and the problem is that they generally do not know the strength of what they are consuming. It would be helpful for consumers if unit or standard drink information was placed on products. If it were placed alongside information indicating what the chief medical officer or the Department of Health recommended as a low risk drinking level, that would be helpful.

On the information the industry gives and the way it has consistently attacked our research, it has been the practice for it or consultancies it has funded to attack it, or it subject to attacks from libertarians who are ideologically opposed to public health policies generally. They have tried to misrepresent our research by misrepresenting the methods used or the results to place it in a slightly different light. They often pick up on small elements and either misrepresent them or exaggerate their importance. Let me give a few examples. International evidence suggests heavier drinkers are slightly less responsive to price than other drinkers. They are just a little less responsive, but we often find that the industry presents them as being unresponsive, which is wrong. It is simply not the case.