Less Than Half Of Adults Can Equate Alcohol Units To Drinks, UK

While more than four in five adults (85%) have heard of 'alcohol units,' only two in five of these (42%) can equate the term to actual drinks - according to new research published yesterday (4th January) by alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware.1 To help consumers gain a better understanding of units and their own drinking in the New Year, Drinkaware has posted 2.3 million unit and calorie calculators to households across the UK.



The survey of more than 4000 UK adults, found that when asked to choose from a list of beverages only 30% of women and 46% of men could correctly identify which drinks roughly equate to one unit of alcohol.2 The survey also showed that less than a third of adults (29% of women and 32% of men) can correctly state the recommended daily unit guidelines for alcohol for their own gender.*



To try and increase the nation's knowledge of equivalents, the Drinkaware unit calculator, which features a range of alcoholic beverages, allows consumers to tot up the number of units and calories in their favourite drinks and promotes three top tips for a healthier 2011:


- Swap your usual glass for a smaller one

- Before you start drinking set yourself a limit and stick to it

- Swap a glass of wine for a relaxing bath to help relieve stress



Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, says:



"It's great to see most people have heard of the term 'alcohol units', but we want to help them understand the unit equivalents of their favourite drinks and relate those to the recommended daily guidelines.*



"Changing the UK's drinking culture won't happen overnight but providing consumers with useful tools such as the unit calculator can help them understand what a unit is and how many are in the nation's most popular drinks.



"It's important we challenge the norm of people unwittingly drinking to excess, whether that's at home after a long day at work or out at a bar or restaurant. Knowing how the unit guidelines translate into everyday life, will make it easier for consumers to stick to them. The benefits of this will be felt not only by individuals - through better health and wellbeing - but also by wider society."



As a further incentive for people to have a healthy start to the New Year each Drinkaware unit calculator recipient will have the chance to enter a prize draw to win a weekend for two at Champneys luxury spa. The first 10,000 entries at drinkaware.co/spawill also receive a free unit measure cup.


Notes


1. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Drinkaware's annual KPI survey, conducted by Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute. Data are based on a total of 4164 interviews conducted amongst UK adults between 14th October and 19th November 2010. Data are also weighted to be representative of the UK in terms of gender, age, work status and ethnicity.


2. One unit is 10ml of pure alcohol. This is roughly the amount of alcohol the average adult can process within an hour. Drinks which equate to one unit of alcohol include half a pint of lager, a single spirit, a half glass of medium wine (90ml) or half a pint of cider


*Drinkaware advises people not to regularly drink more than the daily unit guidelines of 3-4 units of alcohol for men (equivalent to a pint and a half of 4% beer) and 2-3 units of alcohol for women (equivalent to a 175ml glass of wine).


Source:

Drinkaware