Alcohol Units to Appear on U.K. Guinness Glasses

Guinness UK has announced that it will start displaying on glasses the number of standard units of alcohol contained in a pint of the company’s dense brew — 2.3 units per pint — the Guardian reported Feb. 7.

A half a million pint glasses are now being distributed to pubs, with the aim of giving drinkers “a better grasp on the amount of alcohol they are consuming,” according to Guinness UK marketing director John Roscoe.

U.K. health officials recommend that men consume no more than 3 or 4 units of alcohol daily, and that women limit their daily consumption to 2 or 3 units.

Health ministers are currently considering making disclosures like Guinness’ mandatory. Alcohol firms agreed a decade ago to include alcohol content information on their packaging, but last year government research showed that only 57 percent of alcohol companies provided unit information, and just 3 percent added government guidelines on lower-risk drinking.

Both industry groups and watchdog groups praised the idea of putting alcohol unit information on drink glasses.