and the law So what is alcohol …. Alcohol ( or ethyl alcohol) is the ingredient found in , and spirits that caus- es drunkenness. Alcohol is formed when yeast ferments (breaks down without oxygen) the in different food. For example, wine is made from the in grapes, beer from the sugar in malted barley (a type of grain), from the sugar in apples, vodka from the sugar in potatoes, beets or other plants. Alcohol can be expressed by volume “ABV” or by a Unit .

What Is ABV…..

Alcohol content is also expressed as a percentage of the whole drink. Look on a bottle of wine or a can of and you'll see either a percentage, followed by the abbreviation ‘ABV’ (), or sometimes just the word ‘vol’. Wine that says ‘13 ABV’ on its label contains 13% pure alcohol. It is the number of ml of pure ethanol present in 100ml of solution at 20 C

What is an alcohol unit…..

One unit is 10ml or 8g of pure alcohol. Because alcoholic drinks come in different strengths and sizes, units are a way to tell how strong your drink is.

It takes an average adult around an hour to process one unit of alcohol so that there's none left in their bloodstream, although this does vary from person to person.

How many units in a drink…..

Using units is a simpler way of representing a drink's alcohol content – usually expressed by the standard measure alcohol by volume (ABV).

You can work out how many units there are in any drink by multiplying the total volume of a drink (in ml) by its ABV (measured as a percentage) and dividing the result by 1,000.

• strength (ABV) x volume (ml) ÷ 1,000 = units For example, to work out the number of units in a pint (568ml) of strong lager (ABV 5.2%):

• 5.2 (%) x 568 (ml) ÷ 1,000 = 2.95 units Alcohol and the law

How much is two much….

2 - 3 units The safe limit for women is 2-3 units a day and 3 - 4 units per day 3-4 units a day for men per day

What is ? How can you cure a ?

The NHS defines binge drinking as “drinking • The only hangover cure is prevention, ei- lots of alcohol in a short space of time or ther through drinking moderately, or not at drinking to get drunk”. all. To reduce your health risk from binge drink- • Drink plenty of water and if you really need ing, try to: it, take a painkiller and an antacid to settle your stomach. You could also try a rehy- dration treatment sachet – they replace • limit how much you drink on any single lost minerals and . • occasion • Allowing enough time for your body to • drink more slowly process the alcohol. • drink with food especially those high in fat Avoid hair of the dog – it only delays the prob- lem. And routine ‘hair of the dog’ drinking can • alternate with water or non-alcoholic drinks lead to increased tolerance of alcohol and this could lead to