Beer : Health and Nutrition

The Impact of Alcohol on Health 121
the recommended limit for men from 21 units to 28 units per week, with the advice to
women being to drink no more than 21 units per week (previously it had been 14). They
stressed that the daily maximum should be 4 units and that binge drinking (the equivalent
of taking all of the weekly allocation at one sitting) is absolutely undesirable.
Table 6.1 describes a unit of alcohol in terms of volume of beer and other alcoholic
drinks in the UK. It should be noted that the de nition of a unit differs between countries
(Table 6.2). This table also indicates the recommendations concerning alcohol
consumption in those countries. It must be stressed that beers can differ substantially
in their alcohol content (see Chapter 3). Thus a mainstream ale or lager in most parts
of the world is likely to contain between 3.5 and 5% alcohol by volume (ABV) and
one unit is basically a half-pint (284 mL) of such a product. There are some beers
Table 6.1 What constitutes a ‘unit of alcohol’ in the United Kingdom.
Drink Typical alcohol content (% ABV) Volume of drink constituting a ‘unit’
Premium beer 4.5 approx. half a pint
High-strength beer 9.0 approx. quarter pint
Wine 12.0 approx. one-tenth of a 75-cL bottle
Whisky 40.0 20 mL
Gin 40.0 20 mL
Vodka 45.0 15–20 mL
Vermouth 15.0 approx. 1/15 of a bottle
Source: Bamforth (2003).
Table 6.2 Definitions of a unit of alcohol.
Country
Grams of alcohol contained in one
unit (u) or one drink (d) Of cial recommendation (drinks or units)
Australia 8–10 (d) Men < 4 per day
Women < 2 per day
Austria 6.3 (u)
Canada 13.6 (d) Men 2 per day
Women 0.7 per day
Denmark 12 (d) Men < 21 per week
Women < 14 per week
Japan 19.75 (u)
New Zealand Men 3–4 drinks per day
Women 2–3 drinks per day
Sweden Men and women < 50 g alcohol per week
UK 8 (u) Men < 4 per day
Women < 3 per day
USA 12 (d) Men, 2 per day
Women, 1 per day
Source: after Hughes & Baxter (2001).