How did NHMRC develop the 2009 Guidelines?
NHMRC commissioned a systematic search and analysis of the literature on the health effects and risks of alcohol consumption, based on international papers published between 2001 and 2007. This ensures the Guidelines are underpinned by the most current and best available scientific research and evidence. NHMRC then released the draft guidelines for public consultation in 2007. A range of issues were identified and these were considered in the development of the final Guidelines. The methodology to define and describe risk was developed specifically for the 2009 Guidelines. They are the first Guidelines to be based on a specification of lifetime risks to the drinker from drinking at a particular level or in a particular pattern. Previous alcohol guidelines were set without any specification of what absolute risk was involved at particular levels of drinking.
