Units explained

How does your drinking add up?

Many of us underestimate how much we are really drinking

Chief Medical Officer guidance is to avoid drinking more than 14 units a week to help keep your risks from alcohol low.

But with so many different drinks and sizes available it is easy to get confused about how many units you are drinking. Put simply, 14 units around:

- six pints of 4% lager or beer
- six standard glasses of wine, or four large glasses
- seven double spirits

If you drink more, you increase your risks from alcohol.

People are advised to take at least three days off drinking each week and there are many tools that can support you in finding ways to cut down. The free Try Dry app is a simple and easy way to track the days you drink alcohol and the days you don't.

If you regularly drink as much as 14 units per week, it is best to spread your drinking evenly over 3 or more days.