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Journal of Public Health Medicine 24:332-333 (2002)
© 2002 Faculty of Public Health Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom

Short Report

Alcohol awareness and unit labelling


Phil J. Webster-Harrison
Andy G. Barton
Hilary P. Sanders
Susan D. Anderson
Frank Dobbs

Portview Surgery, Higher Portview, Saltash PL12 4BU. pjwh{at}globalnet.co.uk
Plymouth and South Devon Research and Development Support Unit, ITTC Building, Tamar Science Park, Plymouth PL6 8BX.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA.
Room N17, ITTC Building, Tamar Science Park, Derriford, Plymouth PL6 8BX.
University of Plymouth, ITTC Building, Tamar Science Park, Plymouth PL6 8BX.

The benefits of ‘sensible drinking’ have been well researched and documented. The concept of health advice for alcohol consumption in units was suggested as far back as 1987. The government report Sensible drinking in 1995 acknowledged the unit as universal currency for discussing alcohol consumption.

A brief report in the British Medical Journal in 1989 highlighted errors in applying the unit system and 12 years later in the British Journal of General Practice that general practitioners (GPs) and practice nurses frequently underestimate the unit content of alcoholic drinks.

Health education advice in the United Kingdom has for many years been expressed in units – has this been received and understood by the public? Can they interpret this advice appropriately to gauge their drinking correctly? Should voluntary ‘unit labelling’ of alcoholic drinks by 50 per cent of the drinks industry be extended to 100 per cent by legislation?

A survey assessed the knowledge of the basic current sensible drinking recommendations and gauged the accuracy with which respondents could assess the unit content of a range of alcoholic drinks.

Keywords: units, alcohol, sensible drinking


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