Standard drinks

From AODWiki

The term standard drink is used mainly by researchers to impose uniformity on the measurement and reporting of alcohol consumption. Because alcohol content varies by beverage, and because serving sizes very as well, without a standard drink metric, measuring alcohol consumption becomes impossible. Actual size of a standard drink varies by country. This likely reflects the variation in indigenous beverages and serving sizes.

In the United States, most researchers use the following: 12oz Beer (5% abv), 5oz Wine (12% abv), 1.5oz Liquor (80 proof, 40% abv). This equates to about 14g alcohol per standard drink . The standard drink in the UK is derived from the alcohol content of a half-pint (imperial) of beer. Thus, the standard drink is 8g of alcohol (see table).

(table reprinted from www.ICAP.org Drinking Standards: Key Facts and Issues)

References

1. International Center for Alcohol Policies