The UK drinking guidelines have been updated for the first time in 20 years, and it’s not great news if you pride yourself on being a piss-head.
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For years, men have been advised to drink no more than 21 units per week (1.5 pints a day), while women were advised to drink no more than 14 units a week.
The UK’s chief medical officers have now cut the male guidelines to 14 units as well, which works out to 7 pints a week, or just over nine small glasses of wine a week. The recommendations for women remain the same.
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Here’s a full rundown of what 14 units works out to:
- 14 single measures of spirits (ABV 37.5 per cent)
- Seven pints of average-strength (4 per cent) lager
- Nine and one-third 125ml glasses of average-strength (12 per cent) wine
- Seven 175ml glasses of average-strength (12 per cent) wine
- Four and two-thirds 250ml glasses of average-strength (12 per cent) wine
For low-alcohol wines (11 per cent ABV), 14 units equals:
- Just over one and a half bottles
- Five 250ml glasses
- Around seven 175ml glasses
- 10 125ml glasses
For high-alcohol wines (14 per cent ABV), 14 units equals:
- One and a third bottles
- Four 250ml glasses
- Around six 175ml glasses
- Just under eight 125ml glasses
For low-alcohol lagers (3.8 per cent ABV), 14 units equals:
- Just over eight 440ml cans
- Just over six pints
- Five and a half 660ml bottles
For high-alcohol lagers (5.2 per cent ABV), 14 units equals:
- Six 440ml cans
- Around four and a half pints
- Just over four 660ml bottles
Here is what one unit of alcohol (10ml) equals:
- A single measure of spirits (ABV 37.5 per cent)
- Half a pint of average-strength (4 per cent) lager
- Two-thirds of a 125ml glass of average-strength (12 per cent) wine
- Half a 175ml glass of average-strength (12 per cent) wine
- A third of a 250ml glass of average-strength (12 per cent) wine
Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer for England, says:
Drinking any level of alcohol regularly carries a health risk for anyone, but if men and women limit their intake to no more than 14 units a week it keeps the risk of illness like cancer and liver disease low.
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Well that’s a bit shit. On the other side of things you’ve got Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter of Cambridge uni saying that while following those guidelines result in a less than 1% chance of dying from an alcohol-related condition, there are many common behaviours that are actually worse for your health:
An hour of TV watching a day, or a bacon sandwich a couple of times a week, is more dangerous to your long-term health.
So not very reassuring to those who like to eat bacon, drink and watch TV at the same time. But they’re still probably better off than anyone drinking Frosty Jack’s this weekend.
