Facts of Alcohol misuse

Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

| A |

| B |

| C |

| D |

| E |

| F |

| G |

| H |

| I |

| J |

| K |

| L |

| M |

| N |

| O |

| P |

| Q |

| R |

| S |

| T |

| U |

| V |

| W |

| X |

| Y |

Research has shown that a very high percentage of adults in the UK (over 90% of men and 86% of women aged 16 years or over) drink alcohol.

Sensible drinking limits are defined as no more than 21 units a week for adult males and 14 units a week for adult females. To reduce health risks from drinking, this should be spread over the week, 3-4 units per day for men and 2-3 units a day for women. A review in 1995 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Physicians and GPâ€™s, recommended that these limits remain unchanged.

One unit is defined as 7.9g of pure alcohol (also known as ethanol). However, because alcohol is a liquid, it is easier to measure it by volume, and one unit is 10ml of alcohol. This is roughly equivalent to half a pint of beer, cider or lager, a 25ml (pub) measure of spirit such as vodka, whisky or gin, a 50ml (pub) measure of fortified wine such as port or sherry, or a small (125ml) glass of wine.

Different drinks have different amounts of pure alcohol in them because they contain other ingredients such as water, sugar or fruit juice. Each drink has a different quantity of Alcohol by Volume (AbV) so one unit can be found in different measures, depending on the type of liquid.

The number of units can be worked out from the percentage AbV, which equals the number of units of alcohol in a litre of the liquid. For example, many wines in pubs and restaurants are likely to be around 12% (note that the unit above is based on a wine with 8% AbV). A litre of wine at 12% AbV equals 12 units. An average bottle contains 75cL, which is therefore 9 units (75% of 12). If 6 glasses are poured, each will contain 1.5 units. Alternatively, multiplying the %AbV by 10 gives the number of millilitres of alcohol in one litre of the drink.

The quantity of alcohol in a personâ€™s bloodstream (or Blood Alcohol Content) is used to measure their level of intoxication (drunkenness). It is calculated in milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The UK BAC limit for legal driving is 80mg/100ml.

Women have a lower tolerance of alcohol than men. This is because they are often smaller and lighter, their bodies contain less water and their metabolisms are different.