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The latest 'flyer' from the NHS once again gets the number of alcohol units in a 'glass' of wine or a pint of beer seriously wrong. The flyer that was posted through my front door last week gives the number of units as just ONE per glass. The small print tells you that they are referring to a 1.25ml glass, but even with an average alcohol by volume (abv) of 13, that would give 1.625 units per glass. Why not call it TWO units per glass?

 

The following came from the latest advice on the NHS website - know your units Myths and Facts page:

 

MYTH: Beer gets you less drunk than other drinks

TRUTH: A pint of typical-strength beer (ABV 5%), a glass of wine (250ml, ABV 11%) or a large double vodka (70ml) and coke (ABV 38-40%) are all equally intoxicating, at around 2.8 units of alcohol. It's the alcohol itself, not the type of drink it's found in, that makes you drunk although the faster you drink and absorb the alcohol, the higher your peak blood level.

 

Where on earth do you find wine with an abv of 11? I checked in Sainsbury's today and could not find a single bottle under 12 abv and most were 13.5 and a few 15. The NHS even shows a 50ml glass of wine on their units guide and suggests a ridiculously low .9 units. Why?

 

The NHS figures are all underestimates thereby giving a very false and, in my view, highly dangerous estimate of the number of units that people are probably consuming. Why not 'round up' the figures and give the potential maximum number of units?

Most alcoholics and alcohol abusers rarely drink wine from 1.25ml glasses or low strength beers. Pubs and restaurants tend to use 175ml and 250 ml glasses and call them medium or large. Nearly every beer drinker that calls ADMIT drinks beer with an abv of 5-6. A pint means you are consuming nearly 3 units of alcohol not the 2 suggested by the NHS. If you take a 250ml glass of wine you are likely to be drinking 3.25 units of alcohol with average strength wine and potentially 3.75 units of a 15 abv wine. That is nearly 4 times the NHS guidance. Three large glasses of wine would put you over the dink drive limit for around 5-6 hours and yet you might think you are safe if you follow the NHS guidelines.