We’re supposed to be keeping an eye on how much we drink, but how many of us really know what a unit of alcohol is? With so many different drinks and glass sizes, from shots to pints – not to mention bottles – it’s easy to get confused about how many units are in your drink.
- The idea of counting alcohol units was first introduced in the UK in 1987 to help people keep track of their drinking.
- Units are a simple way of expressing the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink.
- One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol, which is around the amount of alcohol the average adult can process in an hour.
This means that within an hour there should be, in theory, little or no alcohol left in the blood of an adult, although this will vary from person to person. The number of units in a drink is based on the size of the drink, as well as its alcohol strength.
men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basisspread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a weekif you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week
14 units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine.
How many drinks is a unit of alcohol?
What is an alcohol unit? – Alcohol units are a simple way of understanding the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink. One unit is 10ml (millilitres) or 8g (grams) of pure alcohol. Because alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and sizes, units are a way to tell how strong your drink is, which can also help you to make comparisons.
As an example, a pint of average strength beer (4% ‘alcohol by volume’, or ABV – see below for explanation) has about two units in it, while a single measure (25ml) of typical spirits is one unit. The UK’s Chief Medical Officers advise that, if you choose to drink, it’s safest to drink no more than 14 units a week (for both men and women).
It’s also important to spread any drinking over three or more days, with several drink-free days and no bingeing. It takes an average adult around an hour to process one unit of alcohol so that there’s none left in their bloodstream, although this varies from person to person.
How much vodka is a unit?
Vodka, like all spirits, is a strong alcoholic drink. A typical-strength single (25ml) measure of vodka will have 1 unit of alcohol in it. And if your drink has a double measure, that means double the amount of alcohol (and calories). The UK Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO) low risk drinking guidelines recommend that it’s safest for both men and women to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread over three or more days with several drink-free days, and no bingeing.
What is 1 standard alcohol unit?
What Is A Standard Drink? Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a drink. The amount of liquid in your glass, can, or bottle does not necessarily match up to how much alcohol is actually in your drink. Different types of beer, wine, or malt liquor can have very different amounts of alcohol content.
Regular beer: 5% alcohol content Some light beers: 4.2% alcohol content
That’s why it’s important to know how much alcohol your drink contains. In the United States, one “standard” drink (or one alcoholic drink equivalent) contains roughly 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is found in:
12 ounces of regular beer, which is usually about 5% alcohol 5 ounces of wine, which is typically about 12% alcohol 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits, which is about 40% alcohol
How do you know how much alcohol is in your drink? Even though they come in different sizes, the drinks below are each examples of one standard drink : Each beverage portrayed above represents one standard drink (or one alcoholic drink equivalent), defined in the United States as any beverage containing 0.6 fl oz or 14 grams of pure alcohol.
How many units is 500ml beer?
Units table for some of the more popular drinks –
| Type of drink | Number of alcohol units |
| Pint of lower-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 3.6%) | 2 units |
| Pint of ordinary-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 4%) | 2.3 units |
| Pint of higher-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 5.2%) | 3 units |
| Bottle of lager/beer/cider (330ml, ABV 5%) | 1.7 units |
| Can of lager/beer/cider (500ml, ABV 5.5%) | 2.8 units |
| Small glass of wine (125ml, ABV 13%) | 1.6 units |
| Standard glass of wine (175ml, ABV 13%) | 2.3 units |
| Large glass of wine (250ml, ABV 13%) | 3.3 units |
| Alcopop (275ml, ABV 4.5%) | 1.5 units |
| Single shot of spirits (25ml, ABV 40%) | 1 unit |
| Double shot of spirits (50ml, ABV 40%) | 2 units |
Is 25 units a week too much?
Low-risk drinking advice – To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks:
men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basisspread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a weekif you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week
If you’re pregnant or think you could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum. Find out more about pregnancy and alcohol
Is 40 units of alcohol a lot?
How much alcohol is too much? – “If you’re drinking more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, you’re drinking too much and are at risk of harm. It really doesn’t take much to reach these limits. Increasingly, drinks have the number of units clearly marked on the bottles or cans.”
Is 3 glasses of wine too much?
What Are Healthy Amounts Of Wine To Drink? – Men and women have different wine drinking limits, as both genders are affected by alcohol differently. Women are more likely to get tipsy or intoxicated faster than men, as their body has higher amounts of water.
- Less alcohol is metabolized in their body, going into their bloodstream, creating a sensitivity to alcohol.
- Experts say a a good maximum amount of wine for women would be a 5 oz glass of wine, and for men two 5 oz glasses of wine, no more than several times a week.
- Experts strongly advise women against having more than 3 drinks of wine per day, and for men, 4 drinks of wine per day.
People may be tempted to drink more wine as a serving of wine, which averages 12.5% alcohol, has lower amounts of alcohol compared to hard liquor, however, drinking greater volumes of wine negates this difference. Exercising moderation in drinking wine can help individuals avoid the risk of binge drinking.
Men who drink 5 or more drinks in a 2-hour time frame and Women who drink 4 or more drinks in a 2-hour time frame
How many drinks is 8 units?
Eight units is equivalent to drinking: Three large glasses of (250ml) of 12% ABV wine or three pints of 5% ABV beer or cider or eight shots 40% proof clear spirits.
Is 24 units of alcohol a lot?
Low-risk drinking advice – To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks:
men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basisspread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a weekif you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week
If you’re pregnant or think you could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum. Find out more about pregnancy and alcohol
What is 1.1 units of alcohol?
What is a unit of alcohol? – One unit is 10ml of pure alcohol. Because alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and sizes, units are a way to tell how strong a particular drink is. It’s not as simple as one drink, one unit – our infographic shows:
A glass of wine contains 2.3 units (175ml glass, 13% ABV)A pint of beer contains 2.3 units (1 pint, 4% ABV)A pint of cider contains 2.6 units (1 pint, 4.5% ABV)A shot of spirits contains 1 unit (1 shot, 40% ABV)A glass of champagne contains 1.5 units (125ml glass, 12% ABV)An average bottle of alcopop contains 1.1 units (275ml bottle, 4% ABV)
Read more about alcohol units on the Drink Aware website,