Binge drinking

luckat

I'm gobsmacked to hear that "binge drinking" is defined as 6 units of wine in one go, under internationally agreed parameters.

How many "glasses" of wine in a bottle, anyone know, since 1 glass = 1 unit?

fragile

Where is your source? what Units are you referring to?

According to this, 6 UK units is 2 1/2 pints or half a bottle of red wine, that can't be considered binge drinking

http://www.ex.ac.uk/trol/dictunit/notes6.htm

luckat

Tonight's News - I think it might have been Sky's "Irish" service, not sure - a doc called.... ummm... Kiely?... was saying this was the international definition.

luckat

Sorry, that "six units of wine" should have read "six units of alcohol". Since wine is what I'd usually drink I had to reclaim my dropped jaw from my glass when I heard it, and must have mistyped.

DerekD Goldfish

A pint is 2 units so over 3 pints is binge drinking bloody hell

luckat

But waitaminute, I'm sure I've heard that one glass of wine is one unit? Unless you're using a Connie-dodger of a glass, one glass isn't a half-pint!

From an English website, Patient.co.uk:

What is a unit of alcohol?

One unit of alcohol is 10 ml (1 cl) by volume, or 8 g by weight, of pure alcohol. For example:
A half-pint of average strength beer, cider, or lager (4-5% alcohol by volume) contains one unit. Note: many beers are now stronger than the average 3-4% alcohol by volume.
A small pub measure (25 ml) of spirits (40% alcohol by volume) contains one unit. A standard pub measure (35 ml) of spirits contains one and a half units.
A standard pub measure of fortified wine such as sherry or port (20% alcohol by volume) contains one unit.
A small glass (125 ml) of average strengh wine (12% alcohol by volume) contains one and a half units. Note: Many wines are stronger - up to 14-15% alcohol by volume. Also, wines are often served in large 175 ml glasses.

A more accurate way of calculating units is as follows. The percentage alcohol by volume (%abv) of any drink equals the number of units in one litre of that drink. For example:
Beer at 6% abv has six units in one litre. If you drink half a litre (500 ml) - just over a pint, then you have had three units.
Wine at 12% abv has 12 units in one litre. If you drink a quarter of a litre (250 ml) - two small glasses, then you have had three units.

Some other examples
Three pints of beer, three times per week, is at least 18 units per week. That is nearly the upper weekly safe limit for a man. However, each drinking session of three pints is at least six units, which is more than the safe limit advised for any one day. Another example: a 750 ml bottle of 12% wine contains nine units. If you drink two bottles of 12% wine over a week, that is 18 units. This is above the upper safe limit for a woman.

Bateman

6 units a binge? That's madness. Either that or Irish people are mad.

fragile

Wow, if 6 units is the internationally agreed limit for binge drinking, then pesonally I would consider binge drinking being on a diet

Seriously though this needs to be taken in context, I think what they mean is that drinking 6 units or more every time you have a drink is binge drinking, as opposed to having a glass of wine with lunch, an aperitif before dinner and maybe a couple of beers in the evening...........not something the Irish are incredibly good at...

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

Bateman wrote:

6 units a binge? That's madness. Either that or Irish people are mad.

nail.head. nation sick with alcahol and no responsible attitude to drug use or abuse.

welcome to the planet earth, may I take your coat?

Super Glue

Bateman wrote:

6 units a binge? That's madness. Either that or Irish people are mad.

I am going to write this is CAPS to get my point across

"DRINKING IS BAD FOR YOU" knowing from experience and plenty of it drinking is very bad for you excpet it moderation when it is relaxing to sit down and have a drink or two a couple(twice) of times a week - I have had my fair share of illness and problems from it and I am only 26 years old -

You think that you are drinking responsibly cause you can still remeber most of the night and you are still upright after 5 -7 pints simular amount of shots and a few bottles and another misconception is that its OK I wont be drinking until next weekend so I will have enough of a rest period during the week - One word WRONG - At the end of the day alcohol is poison and does your body harm except in the amounts stated above as you body can absorb and deal with it safely

I know this has been a bit of a rant but just let me sum up that "DRINKING IS DANGEROUS"

Super Glue

Cal

I just came across the following on www.irishheart.ie

"Do not drink more than the recommended upper limits: 21 standard drinks a week for men and 14 standard drinks a week for women, spread out over the week.

One standard drink
= one half pint of beer, stout or lager
= one small glass of wine
= one glass of spirits (whiskey, vodka or gin). "

Agreed it does state 'upper limit' but that still equates to over 10 pints a week.

Cal

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

that's like telling fat people "don't eat 50 bars of chocolate in one week" it's a ridiculously high number because you know you're not getting them down any further.

ballooba

So that 13.1 units I drank in an hour last night was binge drinking?

(shoulder of vodka... very irresponsible I know... but a cheap night all the same)

MrNuked

Irish people are mad. It's a rite of passage here to develop the ability to drink unhealthily large amounts. It's always surprising how little most people in most countries drink.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

when i was in holland a few weeks ago, i went out to a pub to see a band play.. and one thing that really shocked me towards the end of the night was in the last hour or so of the set.. i noticed that alot of the people i saw in the pub that were drinking, also had glasses of water beside their beers. I was just not used at all to this level of responsible drinking, it was a bloody shock

ferdi

yeah irish people are mad with drink...

and this cannabis drought in dublin that seems to be occuring at the moment can only make things worse.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

it's not just in dublin

something has to be done about this

ferdi

i hear ye man

ShiverinEskimo

luckat wrote:

Beer at 6% abv has six units in one litre. If you drink half a litre (500 ml) - just over a pint,

Surely that should say just UNDER a pint at 568ml or am I being too anal?

Gurgle

ferdi wrote:

and this cannabis drought in dublin that seems to be occuring at the moment can only make things worse.

me feels sorry for all the poor smokers who have to resort to an expensive, poisonous, toxic, liver-destroying, hangover-causing alternative such as booze.

- and on topic, 6 units of alcohol isn't binge drinking, its breakfast after binge dringing.

ferdi

Gurgle wrote:

cannabis drought ?
My hairy eyeballs and I beg to differ!

me feels sorry for all the poor smokers who have to resort to a poisonous toxic liver-destroying hangover-causing alternative such as booze.

lucky bastid!!!

i hate drink, smoke rules