Good practice principles low rik drinking EU RARHA

substantially larger than one unit, and bigger drinks where poured when participants were
given bigger glasses.[ 24 ]
• In a Dutch study 863 subjects were asked to pour their usual drink (using water) into a typical
beverage glass. The self-poured spirits contained 26% more alcohol than the standard drink
and the self-poured wine contained 4% more.[ 25 ]
• In a Scottish study, 238 drinkers were asked to pour “the drink of red wine you would pour at
home” and this was repeated using whisky. The mean amount of alcohol in a drink of selfpoured
wine corresponded to 1.9 UK units. For whisky, the corresponding figure was 2.3 UK
units.[ 26 ]
• A UK study asked 283 participants to pour their “usual glass”, and then to estimate the number
of units poured. The mean number of units poured of wine was 1.9 and of spirits was 1.9.[27]
• In Spain 1600 people at a supermarket who had purchased alcohol were asked to choose the
glass they would use at home and to fill the glass in the same way as at home. A drink of beer
contained a mean of 9.6 grams of pure alcohol, wine contained 10.9 grams and spirits
contained 20 grams.[ 28 ]
While there seems to be awareness of the terms “Standard Drink” and “unit”, understanding of what
these terms actually mean is limited and drinkers are not able to define these measures accurately.
They tend to overstate the appropriate volumes, leading them to overpour drinks and underreport
levels of consumption. This is especially pertinent when alcohol is consumed at home rather than in
licensed premises. Pouring practices appear to vary widely depending on the type of beverage and/or
the type of container. Beverages with a higher %ABV such as spirits are more likely to be over-poured
than beverages with a lower %ABV, for example, beer. This may be explained by the fact that beer is
usually sold and consumed in set volumes, while the volume of spirit and wine poured is usually in the
control of the drinker, and therefore likely to deviate from a standard measure.
Some findings indicate that the shape of the glass is also relevant. In a US study, 198 college
students and 86 bartenders were asked to pour a Standard Drink measure of spirits (44.3 ml) into short,
wide glasses and tall, slender glasses. They all poured more into short, wide glasses. Despite an average
of six years of experience, even bartenders poured 21% more into short, wide glasses than tall, slender
ones.[ 29 ] To avoid overpouring at home or in licensed premises, tall, narrow glasses should be used
rather than short, wide ones. In surveys using self-report of Standard Drinks it may be useful to ask
about the shape of the glass used by the respondent.
Practical usefulness of an agreed EU Standard Drink definition
The HSE RARHA survey sought national informants’ views on the usefulness of an agreed EU Standard
Drink definition for three purposes, inviting them to provide reasons or arguments for their positions.[ 4 ]
Supporting health and social care practitioners to assess patient/client alcohol consumption
Fifteen national informants thought a common SD definition would be helpful to health and social care
practitioners. The reasons given were that it would have more standing than a national measure and
would allow the exchange and standardization between countries of clinical guidelines, assessment
tools and training. It would also facilitate comparison of drinking patterns between countries and
increase public understanding of alcohol content in drinks across Europe. Eight informants thought a
common SD definition would not be helpful as there are established national definitions and
comprehensive national information packages in place. Due to the variation in SD definitions across
countries it would be difficult to agree on a standardized European measure.
Informing consumers of the alcoholic content of drinks
The majority of respondents believed that an EU agreed SD definition would help standardize
information on alcohol content in drinks. It was felt a common definition would increase consumers’
awareness of the amount of pure ethanol in alcoholic drinks. On the other hand, four respondents were
not in favour of a common definition as measures of alcohol differ across and within countries. There
was also concern about confusing health professionals and drinkers. As an alternative, one respondent
suggested the alcohol content in drinks could be given in grams rather than SDs which would enable to
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Good practice principles for low risk drinking guidelines