If the intent is to communicate to the public, this is not an effective way to do it.
One shot is one unit.
One beer is 2-3 units.
One glass of wine is 2-3 units.
It is very simple maths. The kind you find hard to mess up when drinking.
One shot is one centilitre.
One beer is 2-3 centilitres.
One glass of wine is 2-3 centilitres.
It's not maths at all, it's just communication. There's nothing "simpler" about "unit" than "centilitre", it's just less clear.
It would be like a continental European going to America and going, "What are all these MILES things? It's confusing!".
"Units" reduce the complexity to a single number. For most drinks it will be 1, 2 or 3 units. Simple numbers, single digits.
General health advice will state that n units are the maximum recommended per week or day for men or for women. It's a single number to remember. Make sure the drinks you have total less than that maximum number, and you'll be following the recommendations.
The aim here isn't to be scientifically accurate. It's to reduce the problem to its essentials so that the message is clear and simple, and everyone in the entire population can understand it and follow it. By that measure, it's wildly successful.
Units are an unit of measure. It's literally a different name for a centilitre.
> "Units" reduce the complexity to a single number. For most drinks it will be 1, 2 or 3 units. Simple numbers, single digits.
Centilitres reduce the complexity to a single number. For most drinks it would be 1, 2, or 3 centilitres. Simple numbers, single digits.
> General health advice will state that n units are the maximum recommended per week or day for men or for women. It's a single number to remember. Make sure the drinks you have total less than that maximum number, and you'll be following the recommendations.
General health advice will state that n centilitres are the maximum recommended per week or day for men or for women. It's a single number to remember. Make sure the drinks you have total less than that maximum number, and you'll be following the recommendations.