Finally! Gender Equality In Drinking Guidelines

Groundbreaking new guidelines in the United Kingdom strongly encourage Britons to reconsider their drinking habits. One of the more striking observations about the new standards, which recommend that people should cut back significantly on the amount of alcohol they drink, is the fact that the directive asks everyone to equally reduce the amount they drink. That is to say, men and women. For the first time, the U.K. is recommending that both sexes should limit their consumption to the same amount: 14 units of alcohol per week, meaning around five pints of beer or six small wine glasses, according to CNN.

In the U.S., current standards suggest different guidelines based on gender: Women should limit themselves to one drink a day, while men shouldn't drink more than two, because we all know that women can't possibly drink more than men.

CNN reports that Australia now also recommends the same drinking limits for men and women.

The new pitch for equal moderation across the pond comes after some scary findings about potential health hazards for frequent drinkers, including increased risk of developing mouth, throat and breast cancer. One glaring gender-related discrepancy in the new guidelines: Researchers also found that previously reported health benefits from red wine actually only apply to women over the age of 55.

While this unfortunately means that you should probably be making fewer trips to the pub, remember that the U.K. government is just looking out for you. All of you, that is: boys and girls.