If you don't know the safe drinking guidelines it's hardly surprising ... we don't like bad booze news

Of course you did. Positive stories about alcohol are lapped up by those who enjoy a tipple or two.

While you know it has been reported that red wine in moderation can have health benefits (though it may only be good if you’re a mouse!), chances are you don’t know what the official guidelines for healthy drinking are.

We turn a blind eye to the bad stuff.

It probably explains why so few of us know what the correct limits are for recommended alcohol intake each week.

How few is revealed today by Colin Shevills, director of North East alcohol awareness group Balance.

According to latest statistics, only 16 per cent of adults are aware of the guidelines ... two years after they were first announced by the UK’s Chief Medical Officer.

Not surprisingly, Mr Shevills has described the figure as “shockingly low” while calling for clear warnings to appear on booze labels.

Also not surprisingly, few manufacturers are keen to publish the guidelines on their alcohol-rich products.

Mr Shevills reveals a paltry one in 300 carry the guidelines.

He claims this failure means hundreds of thousands of people are putting their health at risk unaware of the guidelines and the reasons for following them.

His concerns can’t be dismissed as scaremongering. Our community has a long and extremely poor record for alcohol-related health and social problems.

If clear safe drinking guidelines printed on product labels could help make inroads into the alcohol problems blighting our community, surely the time is now right for the government to make them mandatory.

The drinks companies may not like it, but lives may well depend on it.