The UK Government is set to release new guidelines on alcohol consumption.

According to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the risk posed by consumption of alcohol in moderatation is “no higher than driving a car.”

Hunt intends to reduce the number of drinks per week deemed healthy for adults from 21 units to 14.

"Hunt intends to reduce the number of drinks per week deemed healthy for adults from 21 units to 14."

A unit equals around half a regular shot of alcohol.

If 14 total units are permitted in a week, it translates to seven half shots, six glasses of wine, or six pints of beer, reported Dailycaller.com.

These guidelines will be a contradiction to the ones set by chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies in January.

Davies had earlier stated that "even drinking small amounts could cause illnesses including cancer.”

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, consumption of alcohol in moderation reduces rates of “heart attack, ischemic (clot-caused) stroke, peripheral vascular disease, sudden cardiac death."