Alcohol Units - Significance, Guidelines, Consequences, Intake Calculation

Alcohol unit meaning

Consumption of alcohol is harmful to health. According to studies, people who consume alcohol are more likely to develop liver disease, pancreatitis, heart disease, brain issues, gout, kidney disease, depression, stroke, stomach bleeding, and malignancies (cancers) of the oral cavity, esophagus, larynx, pharynx, liver, colon, and rectum. These individuals may also have difficulty controlling illnesses, including diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), pain, and sleep issues. Alcohol's impact on long-term health is influenced by both the quantity and frequency of consumption.

Drinking excessively in a single session, even with the purpose of getting intoxicated, can increase the risk of damage and leave people vulnerable in certain conditions. Excessive consumption of alcohol can have short-term health consequences and contribute to a significant number of deaths.

How to track the amount of alcohol consumed?

People are required to monitor how much they drink, but how many of them understand what a unit of alcohol is? With so many different cocktails and glass sizes, from shots to pints, and even bottles of alcohol, it's easy to lose track of the number of units present in the drink.

The concept of counting alcohol units was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1987 to assist people in keeping track of their alcohol consumption.

Units are a convenient way to indicate the amount of pure alcohol in a drink. Calculating the number of units of alcohol is a simple (easier) technique to track the safe limits of alcohol consumption. 

The old rule of thumb that a glass of wine was around one unit has become outdated due to increasing glass sizes and the strength of popular drinks. Nowadays, a large glass of wine may contain three or more units, which is nearly equal to the amount in a triple vodka.

One unit of alcohol is equal to 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol, which is approximately the amount that the average adult may process in an hour. This means that by one hour, little or no alcohol should remain in an adult's blood; however, this varies from person to person.

The number of units in a drink depends on its size and the amount of alcohol in it. For example, a pint of strong beer contains three units of alcohol, whereas the same volume of lower-strength beer contains slightly more than two units. Knowing the units will help people maintain control over their alcohol consumption.

Alcohol unit calculator

Using units is a simpler approach for indicating a drink's amount of alcohol, which is typically represented in terms of the standard measure of alcohol by volume (ABV).

ABV is the proportion of pure alcohol to the total volume of liquid in a drink. People can search for the ABV on cans and bottle labels, which are frequently printed as "vol" or "alcohol volume," or they can ask waiters about specific drinks.

How to calculate Alcohol units?

The total volume of a drink (in milliliters) is multiplied by its ABV (measured in percentages) and divided by 1,000.

Alcohol units formula is strength (ABV) x volume (ml) ÷ 1,000

For example:

• A 750 ml bottle of whiskey containing alcohol by volume (ABV) of 42.8% that is labelled on the bottle. Number of alcohol units contained = 42.8% (ABV) x 750 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 32.1 units of alcohol
• A 650 ml of regular beer bottle containing alcohol by volume (ABV) of 4%. Number of alcohol units contained = 4% (ABV) x 650 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.6 units of alcohol

Alcohol unit guidelines

Excessive drinking can have long-term health consequences. Even consumption slightly beyond the guidelines can also lead to a considerable number of complications. Below are specific guidelines by the National Health Service (NHS) that help in limiting the consumption of alcohol: 

• It recommends limiting alcohol consumption to 3–4 units per day for men and 2–3 units per day for women. 
• People need to split the consumption of alcohol over three or more days if they frequently drink up to 14 units each week. 
• If people intend to cut down alcohol consumption, they need to try having several drink-free days every week.

Addiction to alcohol, including binge-drinking, causes liver and other chronic diseases over time and raises the risk of various types of cancer, including head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast, and colorectal cancers.

The limit is expressed as a range (2-3 and 3-4 units) since research demonstrates that there is no single exact cut-off that applies to each individual every day. Instead, it provides a good indicator of the maximum amount that should not be exceeded daily. Women are at a higher risk of harm due to their body's reduced ability to break down alcohol compared to men.

To limit the health risks of a single drinking session, the medical standards recommend:

• Reducing the amount of alcohol people consume on any occasion.
• Avoiding uncertain behaviors, such as rounds or shots.
• Consuming slowly, drinking with meals, and substituting some alcoholic beverages with water
• Socializing with known individuals can help travel home safely.

Alcohol units in different drinks

Alcohol units are not standardized measurements. In other countries, a single unit may contain more pure alcohol. Fourteen units are equal to six pints of normal-strength beer or ten small glasses of low-strength wine. Different types of drinks contain different units of alcohol. The below-mentioned alcohol units chart indicates various types of drinks and their respective alcohol units: 

History of alcohol units 

The term 'standard drinks' was used till 1987, when 'units' were introduced. The first UK government guideline of a safe upper limit for alcohol consumption in a week was issued in 1992, and it was later altered to a daily recommendation in 1995 when the effects of binge drinking were identified. More initiatives have been implemented to avoid alcohol-related harm, with public education on sensible drinking behaviours being a crucial component of this policy, as underlined by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).



According to the findings of the most recent Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, which included data from 195 countries, alcohol intake is one of the main risk factors for death and disability-adjusted life years (DALY). Heavy alcohol consumption has been associated with a greater risk of a variety of adverse health effects, including all-cause mortality, injuries, cardiovascular events, and cancer. 

Alcohol tests

The alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) is a comprehensive 10-question screening test for alcohol misuse. The World Health Organisation (WHO) created and developed it for use in the UK, with applications in various health and social care settings.

Ten questions include the following: 

1. How often do you drink alcohol? 
2. How many units of alcohol do you drink on a typical day when you are drinking? 
3. In the previous year, how frequently have you had 6 or more units for females or 8 or more for males on a single occasion?
4. In the last year, how frequently have you struggled to quit drinking once you started? 
5. How often have you failed to meet your usual responsibilities due to alcohol consumption in the last year?
6. In the last year, how often did you need an alcoholic drink to wake up after a night of heavy drinking?
7. How frequently have you experienced guilt or remorse after drinking in the last year?
8. In the last year, how often have you been unable to recall events from the night before due to alcohol consumption? 
9. Have you or others been injured as a result of your drinking? 
10. Have you been advised to reduce your alcohol consumption by a family member, friend, doctor, or health professional?

Scoring is as follows:

• 0 to 7 represents a low risk
• 8 to 15 represents an increased risk
• 16 to 19 represents a higher risk
• A score of 20 or higher may indicate possible dependence.
  

Limit of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and conception

Pregnant women and those struggling to conceive should follow specific recommendations based on evidence of potential harm to developing babies.

• Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive should avoid consuming alcohol. If individuals choose to drink, they should limit themselves to 1-2 units of alcohol each week and avoid getting drunk.
• The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends women avoid alcohol during the first 3 months of pregnancy due to the greater risk of miscarriage.
• Ignorance of units also means that some women may accidentally harm their unborn child by consuming more units than they know. 
• Heavy intake of alcohol during pregnancy can increase the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). These conditions cause the child to have lifelong intellectual and behavioral impairments, as well as the possibility of premature death.
  

Limits of alcohol consumption in comorbid conditions

These 14 units of alcohol are according to Western standards. Indians are metabolically different from Western people and are more prone to central obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver. People with high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and who are over 45 years of age, and with fatty liver should stop alcohol or consume less than 10 units per week and need to spread out over multiple days and avoid binge drinking.

In people with alcohol-related liver disease, pancreatitis, liver transplantation, or encephalopathy, or if physicians advise to stop alcohol, in that case, alcohol should be strictly stopped. People need to keep their liver healthy and stay healthy.

Consequences of Alcohol Misuse

The effects of alcohol consumptions vary depending on the number of units consumed and the duration of consumption. It can have both short-term and long-term effects, which include the following:

Short-term effects of alcohol misuse: 

Dependent drinkers who have a higher tolerance to alcohol can typically drink considerably more without having any obvious complications. The short-term effects of alcohol intake include the following:

• 1-2 units: After consuming 1 - 2 units of alcohol, the heart rate increases in individuals, and the blood vessels expand, giving people the relaxing, social, and talkative experience that develops with moderate drinking.
• 4 - 6 units: After consuming 4 to 6 units of alcohol, the brain and nervous system begin to be affected. It begins to alter the portion of the brain responsible for judgment and decision-making, causing people to become more reckless and unrestrained.
• 8 - 9 units: After consuming 8 to 9 units of alcohol, the speed of people's response will be significantly slow, speech will slur, and vision will begin to blur. The liver, the organ that filters alcohol out of the body, will be unable to remove all of it overnight, therefore people are likely to wake up with a hangover.
• 10 - 12 units: After consuming 10 to 12 units of alcohol, coordination will be severely impaired, putting people at significant risk of an accident. The high quantity of alcohol depresses both the body and mind, causing people to get drowsy. This amount of alcohol will eventually become toxic. The body seeks to excrete the alcohol through the urine quickly. This will leave people feeling dehydrated in the morning, which may result in severe headaches.
• More than 12 units: If individuals consume more than 12 units of alcohol, they are at high risk of developing alcohol poisoning, especially if they consume many units in a short time. The liver typically takes around an hour to eliminate one unit of alcohol from the body. Alcohol poisoning happens when excessive levels of alcohol begin to interfere with the body's automatic functions, such as breathing, heart rate, and gag reflex that keep people from choking. Alcohol poisoning may result in a coma and even death.

Long-term effects of alcohol misuse

• Drinking more amounts of alcohol over a long time will have an impact on many of the body's organs and may result in organ damage. Long-term alcohol use has been shown to harm the brain and nervous system, as well as the heart, liver, and pancreas.
• Heavy drinking can also raise levels of blood pressure and cholesterol, both of which are the main risk factors for heart attacks and heart strokes.
• Long-term alcohol consumption can impair the immune system, making individuals more susceptible to dangerous diseases. It may also weaken bones, increasing the possibility of fracturing or breaking them.
• The long-term effects associated with alcohol misuse include hypertension (high blood pressure), liver disease, stroke, pancreatitis, infertility, depression, liver cancer, mouth cancer (oral cancer), head and neck cancer, impotence, premature ejaculation, and also brain damage.