General alcohol advice

Understanding the facts about alcohol can help you avoid drinking at levels that may damage your health.

Alcohol units

Alcohol units are a simple way of understanding the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink.

One unit is 10 millilitres (ml) or 8 grams (g) of pure alcohol. Alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and sizes so units can help you:

• work out how strong your drink is
• make comparisons

To keep the risk of alcohol-related health problems low, it’s recommended to drink no more than 14 units per week. This is equivalent to 6 pints of average strength beer or 6 medium (175ml) glasses of average strength wine.

You should spread these units over 3 or more days and make sure you have several alcohol-free days per week.

Health effects of alcohol

Alcohol can affect your body, lifestyle and mental health in both the short and long-term. Being aware of these effects means that you can make an informed choice about your drinking.

Going out and socialising

Find suggestions to help you keep in control of your drinking when you’re going out and socialising.

Useful resources

Visit the Drinkaware website to:

• read their guidance on alcohol units
• use their unit and calorie calculator
• find out more about the health effects of alcohol

The Alcohol Change UK website provides information to help you understand more about your own drinking habits and how to cut down.

You can also download the free Try Dry app to help you meet your goals, whether you want to:

• take on a dry challenge
• cut down on your drinking
• go totally alcohol-free

Visit the Alcohol Change UK website to download the Try Dry app.