Alcohol Tracker

Recommended weekly alcohol intake

The UK’s Chief Medical Officer and the UK Government recommend that both men and women drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week to minimise the health risks from alcohol. This guidance was updated in 2016 to bring the recommendation for men down from the previous 21-unit weekly limit.

This reflects growing evidence that regular drinking at higher levels increases the risk of a range of cancers, liver disease, and cardiovascular problems. The advice also stresses that if you do regularly reach this weekly amount of 14 units, it is best to spread this evenly across three or more days rather than bingeing, and to have several drink-free days each week. There is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption, and pregnant women are advised not to drink at all.

To put 14 units into everyday terms, it is roughly equivalent to six pints of average-strength lager (around 4% ABV), six medium 175ml glasses of wine at 13% ABV, or about a bottle and a half of wine spread across the week. A pint of stronger craft beer or premium lager at 5.2% ABV contains closer to three units, meaning just five pints would take you to the weekly limit. A large 250ml glass of wine is roughly three units on its own, so four of those across a week already puts you over. Spirits measured as a single 25ml shot count as one unit, but many home pours and pub doubles are considerably more generous, which makes it surprisingly easy to underestimate intake over the course of a week.

How many units are in your favourite drink?

Alcohol content in the UK’s most popular drinks varies considerably, which is why units rather than volume are the more reliable measure. Standard lagers such as Carling and Foster’s sit at around 4% ABV, delivering roughly 2.3 units per pint, while Guinness Draught at 4.1% is almost identical. Step up to premium lagers like Stella Artois (4.6%) or Heineken (5.0%) and a single pint climbs to 2.6 to 2.8 units, and craft beers such as BrewDog Punk IPA at 5.4% push past 3 units per pint.

Wine has increased in strength over the years, with popular brands such as Blossom Hill, Casillero del Diablo and Campo Viejo Rioja sitting between 12.5% and 13.5% ABV. That puts a medium 175ml glass at around 2.2 to 2.4 units, while a full 750ml bottle contains roughly 9 to 10 units on its own, close to three-quarters of the weekly low-risk limit.

Spirits are the most concentrated but come in smaller measures: a standard 25ml single of Smirnoff or Gordon’s (both 37.5%) is just under a unit, and 40% ABV options like Jack Daniel’s or The Famous Grouse come in at a round 1 unit per shot, though pub doubles and home pours will quietly double that figure.

Although the old 21-unit guideline for men still appears in some older materials and informal advice, the current UK Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk guideline is 14 units per week for everyone, regardless of gender. Drinking above this level does not guarantee harm, but the risks rise progressively the more you drink, and binge drinking, commonly defined as more than six units in a single session for women or eight for men, carries its own set of short-term risks including accidents and injuries. Tools such as the alcohol tracker on this page help keep an honest tally, which is often the most useful first step. Habitual drinkers tend to underestimate how much they actually consume in a typical week.