£10m campaign to make drinkers aware of limits

Three out of four people do not know how much alcohol it is safe to drink, according to research for the Government.

Although 82 per cent of people claim to know what a unit of alcohol is, the pollsters YouGov found that 77 per cent do not realise how many units are in a typical large glass of wine.

More than half (55 per cent) of those questioned think a large glass of wine would contain two units, when it contains three. More than a third (35 per cent) do not know that an average pint of beer contains two units, while nearly three out of five (58 per cent) do not know a double gin and tonic contains two units.

The Government is launching a £10m advertising campaign today to combat alcohol abuse. In the first phase, £6m will be spent on helping people to "know your limits" and stay within the recommended daily limits for regular drinkers of two to three units for women and three to four units for men. A second £4m phase will target binge drinking by young people.

Dawn Primarolo, the Public Health minister, said: "Glass sizes have grown larger and the strength of many wines and beers has increased, so it's no wonder some of us have lost track of our alcohol consumption."

Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, said: "It is important that people are aware of how much alcohol their drinks contain, and the associated links to health harm."

The YouGov survey of almost 2,000 people showed that while most women (64 per cent) know that their recommended daily limit is two to three units, only half of the men surveyed know the male equivalent is three to four units.

Awareness appears to get worse with age: 32 per cent of drinkers aged 18 to 24 correctly say that a large glass of wine contains three units, compared to just 18 per cent of those over 55. More than half (52 per cent) of adult drinkers drink alcohol at least twice a week, according to YouGov.

Private Medical Cover from £30 per month with Independent Compare