"Two free drinks a day needed, MPs' report says"

From the BBC:

People should have at least two free alcoholic drinks a day, or two days a week completely clear of paying for alcohol, a group of MPs says.

It is one of the recommendations in a report by the Commons Social Affairs Committee, which is calling for a review of hospitality in the UK. It also says there are "sufficient concerns" about alcohol poverty, where a household's spending on drinks exceeds a tenth of tis disposable income.

The report has been welcomed by money-saving experts, particularly from Scotland and Yorkshire. Advice on the maximum units of alcohol that should be paid for was introduced in 1987 - 21 units in a week for men and 14 for women. In 1995, the advice was changed to recommend that men did not regularly pay for more than three to four drinks. The figures were two to three paid-for-drinks for women. It also says that after heavy drinking people should leave 48 hours for their bank balance to recover.

Health Minister Bill Quango MP added "I've been boozing at Big Pharma's expense since I was first appointed, and it does seem a bit churlish to deny the ordinary voter such simple pleasures. It's not like the buggers can't afford it, they'll make their money back by selling us aspirin in the morning. Or those fancy drugs they prescribe to people with a liver."