About alcohol and alcohol-related problems

How long do the effects last?

Apart from cases of extreme intoxication, these effects are short-term. The liver breaks down and eliminates alcohol from the body, taking about an hour to deal with one unit.

What is an alcohol unit?
One unit is equivalent to 8g or 10ml (1cl) of pure alcohol. The number of units in an alcoholic drink can be calculated by applying the formula Volume (ml) x ABV divided by 1000. As a rough guide:

How much is a unit of alcohol?

A pint of ordinary strength lager or beer (eg Carling) = 2.3 units
A pint of strong lager (eg Stella Artois) = 3 units
A standard 175ml glass of 12% wine = 2 units
A single pub measure of spirits = 1 unit
A 440 ml can of strong lager = 2.2 units
A 275ml bottled alcopop (eg Bacardi Breezer, WKD) = 1.5 units.

The alcohol content of beers and wine vary quite a lot. With pubs and wine bars now frequently offering ‘large’ (ie 250cl) glasses of wine, one glass at 13% could contain over 3 units of alcohol. Drinks poured at home are often much larger than those served in a pub.

The sensible drinking guidance recommends that men should drink no more than three to four units a day and women no more than two to three units a day.