Alcohol recommended limits and public education

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Dr Chia Shi-Lu
MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC

Question No. 2227

To ask the Minister for Health in view of the latest findings showing the harmful effects of alcohol consumption and that there is likely no safe level of alcohol consumption (a) whether the Ministry will consider lowering the recommended limit for alcohol consumption to no more than two standard drinks a day for men and no more than one for women; and (b) how will the Ministry conduct an updated public education programme to inform Singaporeans and residents.

Written Answer

1     The current recommended limit for regular alcohol consumption in Singapore is already two standard drinks a day for men and one standard drink a day for women as suggested by Dr Chia. According to the latest National Population Health Survey, 2.3% of Singaporeans aged 18-69 years exceeded the recommended limit in 2017. Although this was an increase from 1.4% in 2007, our alcohol consumption is still among the lowest in Asia^[1].

2     Together with its partners, the Health Promotion Board (HPB)’s current strategy is focused on raising awareness on the harms of alcohol consumption and binge drinking among youth. HPB worked with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to include information on the harmful effects of alcohol in the school curriculum for all students at primary and secondary schools. Information on the effects of excessive alcohol consumption, particularly binge drinking, is embedded in the lifeskills programme and health related activities for ITE and Polytechnic students, as well as national servicemen. Similar information is also made available to members of the public on HPB’s Healthhub website.

3     HPB also collaborates with other agencies such as the National Addictions Management Service and Traffic Police to include pertinent messages on sensible drinking in their campaigns.

4     MOH and HPB will continue to take into consideration evidence that is relevant and applicable to our local context when reviewing recommended limits and public education initiatives. We will also continue to closely monitor the trends of regular alcohol consumption and binge drinking in Singapore.

^[1] WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2014