Category: Daytime
Date: 03.10.2005
Printable version
Britain's Streets of Booze - every day this week at 9.15am on 91Èȱ¬ ONE
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The Government has ordered a review of its guidelines on drinking alcohol during pregnancy following claims that even small amounts of alcohol could be damaging to unborn babies, a 91Èȱ¬ Daytime Current Affairs programme reveals on Wednesday (6 October 2005).
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On the eve of the biggest ever change in licensing laws in the UK, Britain's Streets of Booze (91Èȱ¬ ONE, 9.15am, every day this week) delves into the depths of a booze fuelled Britain and looks at what effects alcohol already has on the nation and what further problems could be encountered as a result of the 24-hour licensing laws.
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The third programme in the series, The Innocents, explores the consequences of drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
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In the programme, Dr Fiona Adshead, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, says publicly for the first time that the Government has commissioned a new research project to look into the effects of low to moderate drinking of alcohol during pregnancy.
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Dr Adshead says: "We know that some people have raised concerns that consuming any alcohol during pregnancy is unsafe.
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"It is vital that public health messages are based on sound evidence and retain the credibility and confidence of health professionals.
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"That is why we have commissioned a research scoping exercise on the effects of alcohol on developing foetus.
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"This will review the available evidence on the effects of low level alcohol consumption during pregnancy and will report towards the beginning of next year."
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Dr Adshead goes on to say that the Government will change its advice to pregnant women about drinking if this research project shows evidence that the current guidelines are out of date or no longer sustainable.
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Currently, the Government guidelines advise women either to stop drinking altogether when pregnant or to stick to just one to two units of alcohol once or twice a week.
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Dr Adshead explains in the programme: "We need to really reinforce the message that they [pregnant women] should only drink one or two drinks a week and they should avoid at all costs becoming drunk.
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"That's our best advice now and of course should that change in January we will make sure that women who are pregnant know that."
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Other countries, including the United States and Canada, advise complete abstinence for pregnant women or for women wanting to become pregnant.
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This is due to a condition known as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) - which some medical experts now believe might be caused by drinking even small amounts of alcohol when pregnant.
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FASD is considered by these medical experts to be one of the most common causes of learning difficulties in the world, yet it could be totally preventable.
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Some of the symptoms of FASD are learning difficulties, problems processing information, poor judgement, a lack of emotional control and an inability to control sexual impulses.
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When diagnosed with the full spectrum of the disorder caused by heavy drinking when pregnant - known as Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) - there are physical characteristics that accompany the condition including narrow eyes, a flattened philtrum (space below the nose) and a thin top lip.
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There is currently so little research available in the UK that most of the statistics are based on US figures.
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The programme also reveals:
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According to research*, one in 100 babies are born with a FASD, that's 20 times more than the number with Down's Syndrome (*from the University of Washington/ US National Centre for Health Statistics)
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The average IQ of someone with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is 80. That's 20 points below the national average (University of Washington)
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61% of women said they drank alcohol during pregnancy (Department of Health 2002)
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Young British women drink three times as much as French and Italian women (Datamonitor)
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A 20-year-old with FAS will have the reading ability of a 16-year-old; the time and money management skills of an 11-year-old, the emotional maturity of a six-year-old (Better Endings, New Beginnings).
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Now, some experts believe that even drinking just one to two units once or twice a week can cause problems with the foetus leading to possible FASD.
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Dr Raja Mukherjee, a specialist in FASD at St George's Hospital in South London, says that the Government's guidelines are not clear: saying to women that one to two units of alcohol, once or twice a week, is safe during pregnancy is too general and ambiguous.
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Dr Mukherjee says the UK should be following the same advice as those of the American and Canadian governments that abstinence is best.
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He goes on to say: "The only guaranteed safe message is if you can avoid it then don't drink."
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Other contributors in the programme say that it is not clear whether people understand the consequences of drinking when pregnant - even in low to moderate amounts - and that an increase in the amount of young women drinking could lead to an increase in FASD.
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Subniv Babuta, Britain's Streets of Booze series producer, said: "We are really encouraged that the Government has now announced to us that they have commissioned new research into the possible effects of drinking when pregnant.
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"Initially we were told that the Government guidelines were reviewed in January 2005 and there was no reason for them to be changed.
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"But our programme presents a growing body of expert medical opinion that drinking even low to moderate amounts of alcohol when pregnant could well have lasting, detrimental effects on the foetus.
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"It is highly significant that the Government has acknowledged this possibility.
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"The condition of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and its effects is just not widely known to people in this country so it is important that awareness is raised."
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Notes to Editors
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The series consists of five programmes shown from Monday 3 October to Friday 7 October on 91Èȱ¬ ONE at 9.15am.
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The other programmes in the series included Super Strength Hell investigating the effects of super strength drinks shown on Monday (3 October); and Bingers, looking at the culture of binge drinking (shown on Tuesday 4 October).
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And, to be shown during the rest of the week, Tanked up Teenagers (Thursday 6 October), exploring alcohol misuse by those aged between 14 and 18; and On the Wagon (Friday 7 October) which spotlights the lives of people desperately trying to kick alcohol addiction.
