Older people warned to cut alcohol intake: British report by Royal College of Psychiatrists THE level of alcohol abuse by people aged 65-plus and its impact on their lives is little understood, experts say. A British report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists warns of a growing generation of "invisible addicts" abusing alcohol, and proposes cutting the recommended number of standard drinks for older people. The report calls for an upper safe limit of 1.5 units of alcohol a day for men over-65 (equivalent to one small glass of wine), down from three or four units, and one unit for women over-65, down from two or three. Older people tended to drink in private, and their drinking could increase with life changes such as retirement, death of a spouse or loneliness. Australia has similar problems with older drinkers, who are known to drink more often than younger people. Unlike the US, there is no distinction in the recommended number of drinks between older and younger people. "Australia's guidelines are stricter than the UK's, recommending limiting consumption to two drinks a day to reduce the risk of long-term harm," says Michael Thorn, chief executive of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation. While the focus is often only on young people's drinking behaviours, the ageing of the population increases the need to look more closely at how older people are using alcohol. Older people are more likely to suffer from chronic pain, and self-medicating with alcohol further increases overall risks of physical harm. Celia Wilkinson, senior lecturer in addiction studies at Edith Cowan University, is studying the impact of alcohol on older people. "I think they're a forgotten section of the population, and there's a bit of a view that 'At their age, what's the point?', but we have to remember that this group will all be living longer and we need to be focusing on what can improve quality of life," Dr Wilkinson said.