The UK Government Guidelines define 'a drink' as 8g (1cl of pure alcohol) and define moderation as 3-4 drinks a day for men and 2-3 drinks a day for women.

The Department of Health offers the following guidance on sensible drinking and takes into account the following factors:

• Setting daily benchmarks can help individuals to decide how much to drink on a single occasions and to avoid excessive drinking with its attendant health and social risks.
  
• Drinking alcohol confers a significant health benefit in terms of reduced CHD mortality and morbidity on men aged over 40 and postmenopausal women. In terms of all cause mortality and morbidity the benefits can be largely gained by drinking as little as 1 unit a day on a regular basis. Consumption above 2 units a day does not confer any major additional health benefits
  
• Men who drink more than 3 to 4 units a day run an increasingly significant risk of illness and death from a number of conditions, including haemorrhagic stroke, some cancers, accidents and hypertension.
  
• For women there are a number of additional factors to be taken into account: differences in average weight and tissue density from men and the effects of the menopause, as well as the patterns of female mortality and the possible risk of breast cancer. These factors point to setting a lower overall level than for men.
  
• Women who drink more than 2 to 3 units a day run an increasingly significant risk of illness and death from a number of conditions, including haemorrhagic stroke, some cancers, accidents and hypertension.”

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MEN

• The health benefits from drinking relates to men aged over 40 and the major part of this can be obtained at levels as low as one unit a day, with the maximum health advantage lying between 1 and 2 units a day.
  
• Regular consumption of between 3 and 4 units a day by men of all ages will not accrue significant health risk.
  
• Consistently drinking 4 or more units a day is not advised as a sensible drinking level because of the progressive health risk.

WOMEN

• The health benefit from drinking for women relates to postmenopausal women and the major part of this can be obtained at levels as low as one unit a day, with the maximum health advantage lying between 1 and 2 units a day.
  
• Regular consumption of between 2 and 3 units a day by women of all ages will not accrue any significant health risk. Consistently drinking 3 or more units a day is not advised as a sensible drinking level because of the progressive health risk it carries.