Units of alcohol: How many units are there in your favorite drink?

This is the season when we like to knock back the booze and indulge in festive drinks like eggnog and mulled wine.

But few of us know how many units are in our favorite alcoholic beverages.

MailOnline has now created a quiz that lets you guess how many units are in 16 different drinks, from wine to beer and from espresso martinis to margaritas.

Official data has shown that the UK is actually in the middle range in terms of alcohol consumption, behind France and Germany

It comes after a survey found that nearly three-quarters of adults underestimate the amount of wine in a 250ml glass.

When shown the large glass, which contained a third of a bottle, 70 percent of those surveyed believed it to be a medium or small glass.

The study, conducted by Direct Line Motor Insurance, also found that only 22 percent correctly identified a double measure when seeing a serving of gin in a glass.

Some 59 percent believed the double measure was just a single shot of the drink, nicknamed “mom’s downfall.”

Despite Britons often underestimating how much they might drink, separate data showed that they actually drink less than their European counterparts.

A report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that Britons drank 9.7 liters of pure alcohol per adult in 2020 – 0.1 less than the EU average.

It was the equivalent of about nine pints of low-strength beer or six large glasses of wine a week.

Latvia had the highest rate with 12.1 liters per adult during the year, while France had 10.4 and Germans drank 10.6.

Brits are urged not to drink more than 14 glasses a week on a regular basis – the equivalent of six pints of lager or 10 small glasses of wine. The data showed that most people drank more on average.

Americans are advised to drink no more than 14 small cans of beer per week for men and seven small glasses of wine for women.

Drinking too much over the long term increases your risk of a range of diseases, including heart disease, stroke, liver disease and cancer.

How many units are in these two glasses? Only 15 percent guessed correctly for wine, while 23 percent knew the answer for gin. ANSWER: Wine: 3.2 units, Gin: 1.8 units

Andrew Misell, from Alcohol Change UK, commented on Direct Line Motor Insurance’s survey of 2,000 people: ‘We’ve seen a major shift in drinking habits in recent years, with more and more of us drinking at home.

‘However, as this research has shown, many people are unsure of the size of the drinks they pour themselves, and often underestimate how much they drink.

This can lead them to drink more than they intended without realizing it.

“If you drink at home, it’s smart to get into the habit of checking the units in your drinks, keep a running count, and stay under 14 units per week.”

DrinkAware, the national charity that works to prevent alcohol abuse, advises people to “take the guesswork out of pouring” by buying an alcohol measuring cup or using a regular kitchen scale.

The survey found that nearly 40 percent of drinkers never check how much alcohol they serve at home.

Earlier this year, Professor Julia Sinclair, chair of the addictions department at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, warned that millions of Britons are doing themselves ‘silent harm’ by drinking too much.

People drink at home, don’t keep track of how much they consume and encourage each other to drink more, she said.

DO YOU DRINK TOO MUCH ALCOHOL? THE 10 QUESTIONS THAT REVEAL YOUR RISK

A screening tool commonly used by medical professionals is the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Tests). Developed in conjunction with the World Health Organization, the 10-question test is considered the gold standard for helping determine whether someone is abusing alcohol.

The test is reproduced here with permission from the WHO.

To complete it, answer each question and record the corresponding score.

YOUR SCORE:

0-7: You are within the limits of sensible drinking and have a low risk of alcohol-related problems.

More than 8: Indicate harmful or dangerous drinking.

8-15: Medium risk level. If you drink at your current level, you risk having problems with your health and life in general, such as work and relationships. Consider cutting down (see below for tips).

16-19: Higher risk of complications from alcohol. Cutting back yourself can be difficult at this level, because you are dependent and therefore need professional help from your GP and/or a counselor.

20 and older: Possible dependency. Your drinking is already causing problems and you could very well be dependent. You should definitely consider stopping gradually or at least drinking less. You should seek professional help to determine your dependency and the safest way to stop drinking.

Severe dependence may require medically assisted weaning or detox in a hospital or specialist clinic. This is due to the potential for severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the first 48 hours that require specialist treatment.