Drinks and unitsĪ 750ml bottle of red, white or rosé wine (ABV 13.5%) contains 10 units.

5.2 (%) x 568 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.95 unitsįor a quicker method, use Alcohol Change UK's unit calculator.

strength (ABV) x volume (ml) ÷ 1,000 = unitsįor example, to work out the number of units in a pint (568ml) of strong lager (ABV 5.2%):.

You can work out how many units there are in any drink by multiplying the total volume of a drink (in ml) by its ABV (measured as a percentage) and dividing the result by 1,000. You can find the ABV on the labels of cans and bottles, sometimes written as 'vol' or 'alcohol volume', or you can ask bar staff about particular drinks.įor example, wine that says '12% ABV' or 'alcohol volume 12%' means 12% of the volume of that drink is pure alcohol. Using units is a simpler way of representing a drink's alcohol content – usually expressed by the standard measure alcohol by volume (ABV).ĪBV is a measure of the amount of pure alcohol as a percentage of the total volume of liquid in a drink.

if you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each weekġ4 units is equivalent to 6 pints of average-strength beer or 10 small glasses of lower-strength wine.

spread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week.

men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis.

To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks:

Knowing your units will help you stay in control of your drinking.

The number of units in a drink is based on the size of the drink, as well as its alcohol strength.įor example, a pint of strong lager contains 3 units of alcohol, whereas the same volume of lower-strength lager has just over 2 units. 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. One unit equals 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol, which is around the amount of alcohol the average adult can process in an hour. Units are a simple way of expressing the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink.

The idea of counting alcohol units was first introduced in the UK in 1987 to help people keep track of their drinking. 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. 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?

Half a bottle of vodka