The 'confusing' alcohol units system would be dropped by a Tory government, the Shadow Health Secretary revealed today.
Andrew Lansley said the Tories would ditch the current system, which appears on glassware and labels throughout the country, and replace it with information on how many centilitres of alcohol are in a drink.
The measure is part of Conservative health plans to tackle issues such as obesity and binge-drinking.
Lansley said: "I am setting out concrete plans to encourage people to live healthier lives. But in order that people are able to make the right choices we need to provide them with simple and correct information.
"That is why, for example, we are going to move away from the confusing system of alcohol units, and also provide people with relevant, consistent information such as the centilitres of alcohol in alcohol products, and the calories content in each alcoholic drink."
The existing labelling system is based on a voluntary agreement between the drinks industry and the government.
Some in the trade may see the plan as more needless meddling by the authorities.
But Mark Hastings, communications director at the British Beer & Pub Association, said there could be postives from the proposal.
"The real potential benefit of the Conservative plan is to standardise information not just across Europe, but globally," he said.
"At the moment different countries have different definitions of a unit. Centilitres is the same around the world."
But Paul Smith, executive director at late-night operator trade group Noctis, attacked the plans, saying it will make "a confused situation even more confused".
"The compliance levels that are being quoted are actually much lower than reality and that by and large the voluntary agreement with industry is working," he said.
"The complaint from our industry which is most often mentioned is that it is very hard to get a clear steer from government on what they want the labels to contain."