How many standard drinks are in that glass?

How many standard drinks are in that glass? Know Your Limit

Wellington, November 12

The campaign ‘Know Your Limit: Rule of Thumb’ being led by Hospitality New Zealand has highlighted how few New Zealanders actually know what a standard drink is. Drinking responsibly hinges around an understanding of this crucial measure however.

“That’s why we’re investing in a coordinated programme of activity to improve people’s knowledge about what a standard drink is and how to drink sociably,” said Tomorrow Project Chair, Jenny Cameron.

The Tomorrow Project is a drinks industry social change initiative whose aim is to create a safe and sociable drinking culture by providing facts and tools drinkers need to make smarter drinking choices. The consumer brand of The Tomorrow Project is called Cheers! (www.cheers.org.nz) which has just started a three year campaign focused on standard drinks.

“The recent change to the drink driving limit has prompted more conversations around how many drinks it takes to stay under the limit.

“The safest option is still to not drink and drive, but it is possible to have a sociable drink and stay within the legal limit for those that choose to do so,” Jenny says.

The Know Your Limit: Rule of Thumb campaign helps provide clarity for those wanting to know more. Developed with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), it explains how many drinks the typical adult can have to stay within the law (3 standard drinks over 2 hours of men, 2 standard drinks over 2 hours of women).

Cheers! is supporting the campaign by explaining what a Standard Drink is – the single best tool to help people know precisely how much alcohol they’re actually drinking, how their body processes it and how long it will take.

“One of the keys to the Hospitality NZ campaign is knowing what a standard drink looks like so we’ve pulled together the right information in an online, easy to understand tool for knowing how many standard drinks are in your glass,” Jenny says.

“A standard drink is based on 10grams of alcohol which is how much alcohol is takes your body to process in an hour.

“The Cheers! message is simple 1 = 1. One standard drink takes your body one hour to process. And it’s the same amount for everyone, whether you’re big, little, man, or woman.

“You can’t speed this process up, and your body can only deal with one drink at a time. So, if you have three standard drinks, it will take three hours for your body to process them.

“Most importantly, a standard drink is less than people think, and it’s often less than most bars pour.

So keeping track isn’t as simple as counting your drinks. But once you know how to judge a standard drink, it’s easy to keep track, irrespective of the glass or serve size.”

For an interactive calculator to find out how many standard drinks are in your glass go to:

http://www.cheers.org.nz/standard-drinks/

ENDS

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