Christian drug education charity Hope UK has welcomed the latest warning over alcohol consumption from Prof David Nutt.

In a public statement in the Guardian this week, the former government drugs adviser said the notion of a save level of drinking was a “myth” used by the alcohol industry to defend the sale of alcohol at low prices.

He warned that there was “no safe dose of alcohol” because of the toxic nature of the substance.

He noted that there was as yet no scientific evidence to support the commonly held assumption that a low level of alcohol intake has cardiovascular benefits for some middle aged men.

“We must not allow apologists for this toxic industry to pull the wool over our eyes with their myth of a safe alcohol dose, however appealing it might be to all us so-called ‘safe’ drinkers,” he said.

Marolin Watson, of Hope UK, said Prof Nutt was right to conclude that there are no safe levels of alcohol consumption.

She said there was a lot of confusion surrounding recommended units of alcohol consumption, which often had the effect of making people drink more than they had intended to.

“Prof Nutt has said what we have been saying for a long time. There are no safe levels of alcohol consumption, particularly for children and young people,” she said.

“Going alcohol free is always the best and clearest option.”