How much is too much?

How much is too much?

Knowing ‘how much is too much’ can be confusing. 
To help us make better choices around our drinking the Government published updated low risk guidelines in 2016. The same guidance applies to both men and women.

The UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low Risk Drinking Guidelines

The key points to remember:

14 units a week
There is no safe amount of alcohol, but to keep health risks from alcohol to a low level it is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis. 14 units means roughly six pints of lager or one and a half bottles of wine.

Don’t ‘save up’ your units
Spread them out over three or more days. If you have one or two heavy drinking episodes a week, you increase your risks of death from long term illness and from accidents and injuries.

Make sure you have a least two days off.

Pregnant or planning a pregnancy?
The safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.

What does 14 units look like?

Fourteen units is roughly equivalent to 6 pints of 4% beer or 6 glasses (175ml) of 13% wine.
The above graphic shows how 14 units could be consumed over a week. 

Why should I spread my units out over the week?

Your body can only process one unit of alcohol per hour. Drinking anything over 6 units in a single session for women, or 8 units in a single session for men, is classed as a ‘binge’. 

Binge drinking increases your risk of:
  • accidents resulting in injury, causing death in some cases
  • misjudging risky situations
  • losing self-control, like having unprotected sex

Why have ‘no drinking’ days?

Having several alcohol-free days each week is a simple way to reduce your drinking and help you keep to low risk levels.

Want to know how risky your drinking is?

Alcohol can have a big impact on your health - take the test to see how your drinking measures up.
CHECK YOU DRINKING
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