Alcohol Awareness Week is a week of awareness-raising, campaigning for change, and more. Alcohol Awareness Week 2024 will take place from 1 to 7 July on the theme of ‘Understanding alcohol harm’.
Understanding alcohol harm
Alcohol can sometimes plays a centre-stage role in our lives. It’s promoted as we watch our favourite sports, advertised as we travel to work and strategically placed in our favourite films and TV shows. It’s there when we celebrate, commiserate and when we’re just trying to cope.
Yet alcohol is harming our health and wellbeing on a daily basis, from the quality of the sleep we’re getting, to our relationships with those we love. And each year, thousands of people experience long-term health problems as a result of the alcohol they drink or die from alcohol-related causes.
Measuring Units
Units provide a simple way for us to calculate the quantity of pure alcohol in a drink using its strength and size.
To make things a little quicker, use our unit calculator or check the table below:
Type of drink | Number of alcohol units |
Pint of lower-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 3.6%) | 2 units |
Pint of ordinary-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 4%) | 2.3 units |
Pint of higher-strength lager/beer/cider (568ml, ABV 5.2%) | 3 units |
Bottle of lager/beer/cider (330ml, ABV 5%) | 1.7 units |
Can of lager/beer/cider (500ml, ABV 5.5%) | 2.8 units |
Small glass of wine (125ml, ABV 13%) | 1.6 units |
Standard glass of wine (175ml, ABV 13%) | 2.3 units |
Large glass of wine (250ml, ABV 13%) | 3.3 units |
Alcopop (275ml, ABV 4.5%) | 1.5 units |
Single shot of spirits (25ml, ABV 40%) | 1 unit |
Double shot of spirits (50ml, ABV 40%) | 2 units |
Blogs from AlcoholChange.org
Gary used alcohol to try and cope with his financial anxieties. Here, he tells us how he was able to overcome alcohol dependency and improve his mental health.
In this blog, Clare shares her experiences of going into rehab and how supporting people before they reach crisis point can be beneficial for us all.