Skip to main content
N I Direct government services

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
  • Contacts
  • Help
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Health and wellbeing
  3. Living well
  4. Healthy lives
  5. Alcohol and drugs

Alcohol units

Alcohol units tell you how strong a drink is. In Northern Ireland, one unit is 10ml or eight grammes of pure alcohol. There are health risks to regular drinking and drinking too much. If you drink alcohol, check the medical guidelines about limiting the units you drink each week.

What an alcohol unit shows

Alcoholic drinks have different strengths.  The number of units in one drink is based on the quantity of drink and the alcohol strength. One unit is 10ml or eight grammes of pure alcohol. Most adults can process this amount of alcohol in an hour.

Alcohol units in other countries

An alcohol unit is not a standard measurement. In other countries, one unit might contain more pure alcohol. 

Alcohol limits and unit guidelines

Published by the UK’s Chief Medical Officers, the low risk drinking guidelines are for men and women aged over 18 years who drink alcohol. The medical guidelines explain low risk drinking but don’t mean drinking alcohol is safe.

The medical guidelines give advice on:

  • how many alcohol units you can have in a week to lower the risk of harm
  • single session drinking
  • not drinking alcohol when you're pregnant
     
  • ​UK Chief Medical Officers' Low Risk Drinking guidelines - PDF (323KB)

Limiting weekly alcohol units

If you drink heavily on two or more occasions each week, you increase your risk of death from long-term illness or injuries.

To reduce the health risks from drinking alcohol:

  • don't drink more than 14 units a week regularly
  • spread your drinking over three or more days if you regularly drink 14 units a week
  • reduce your drinking and have several alcohol-free days each week

Fourteen units is equal to:

  • six pints of average strength beer
  • ten small glasses of low strength wine

Alcohol units in drinks

Compare alcohol units in different quantities of drinks:

  • a pint of strong beer has three units of alcohol
  • a pint of low or medium strength beer has over two units
  • a large glass of wine has three units
  • a standard glass of wine or pub bottle of wine has over two units
  • a small glass of wine has one and a half units

Glass sizes

Check how much alcohol different sized glasses can hold:

  • a pint holds 568ml 
  • a small wine glass holds 125ml
  • a medium wine glass holds 175ml
  • a large wine glass holds 250ml

Single drinking session

Adults who drink alcohol shouldn’t save up their units for a single drinking session.

To reduce the health risks from a single drinking session, the medical guidelines recommend:

  • limiting the amount of alcohol you drink on any occasion
  • drinking more slowly, drinking with food and swapping some alcoholic drinks for water
  • avoiding risky behaviour, for example rounds or shots
  • socialising with people you know will get you home safely

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy

There are no safe limits for drinking alcohol when you’re pregnant. Alcohol is harmful to your health and your unborn child’s health.

  • Pregnancy and alcohol

More useful links

  • How alcohol affects your health
  • Mixing alcohol with other drugs
Share this page Share on Facebook (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share on Twitter (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share by email (external link opens in a new window / tab)

Alcohol and drugs

  • Alcohol units
  • Alcohol, young people under 18 and the law
  • Drugs and your child
  • Getting help with drug or alcohol problems
  • How alcohol affects your health
  • Mixing alcohol with other drugs
  • Pregnancy and alcohol
  • Risks of taking drugs
  • What happens when you drink alcohol
  • When alcohol affects family life
  • You, your child and alcohol
  • Young people and risks of alcohol

Translation help

How to translate this page

Help improve this page - send your feedback

What do you want to do?
Report a problem
Which problem did you find on this page? (Tick all that apply)

Messages

You will not receive a reply. We will consider your feedback to help improve the site.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

What is your question about?

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Carer's Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912
Email 
dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

Call 0800 587 2750 
Email 
customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

Disability Living Allowance

Call 0800 587 0912 
Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

  • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
  • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

  • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
    contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
     
  • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
    contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

 

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

Related sites

  • gov.uk
  • nibusinessinfo.co.uk

Links to supporting information

  • Accessibility statement
  • Crown copyright
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS