joint strategic needs assessment foundation profile - JSNA

Interative Hull Atlas: www.hullpublichealth.org/Pages/hull_atlas.htm More information: www.jsnaonline.org and www.hullpublichealth.org
13.4.2 Definitions Used to Measure Alcohol Consumption
The local Health and Lifestyle Surveys collected information on the total number of
drinks consumed over the previous week by category of drink, e.g. the number of pints
of ordinary-strength and strong beer, lager, cider and stout, number of glasses of wine,
number of pub measures of spirits, etc. The questionnaires used in the local surveys
can be found at www.hullpublichealth.org. From this information the estimated number
of alcohol units were derived. Table 411 gives the number of alcohol units for each type
of drink from the 2009 Prevalence Survey (adapted from the units used in the local 2007
Health and Lifestyle Survey). From this, the total number of alcohol units drunk during
the previous week was calculated.
Table 411: Calculating alcohol units consumed during the previous week based on types
of drinks consumed
Type of drink Measure Units
Ordinary beer, lager
or cider
Strong beer, lager or
cider
Wine
Whisky, gin, sherry
etc
Pint (586ml) or large bottle/can (500ml) 2.0
Standard can (440ml) 1.5
Small can/bottle (330ml) 1.1
Pint (586ml) or large bottle/can (500ml) 4.0
Standard can (440ml) 3.0
Small can/bottle (330ml) 2.3
Pub measure glass 2.0
Large glass 3.0
Bottle 9.0
Pub measure glass 1.0
Home measure glass 1.4
Alcopops Standard bottle 1.5
Survey responders were also asked how frequently they drank 8 or more units (for men)
or 6 or more units (for women) with examples of what constituted an alcoholic unit. It is
recommended that men do not exceed 4 units daily and that women do not exceed 3
units daily. Therefore, this question asks about the frequency of consuming twice the
daily recommended limit and this is generally the definition used for binge drinking
(although the General Lifestyle Survey uses “exceeding 8 units” for men and “exceeding
6 units” for women, i.e. drinking exactly 8 and 6 units respectively is not classified as
binge drinking). Table 412 gives the definitions used to define excessive alcohol
consumption and binge drinking in the local Health and Lifestyle Surveys. Further
information can also be found in the Alcohol report resulting from analysis of the 2007
Health and Lifestyle Survey data which is available at www.hullpublichealth.org.
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