Bolton licensee opts to display alcohol units on pub wall
Sean Hornby, who runs Thwaites tenancy the Queens Hotel in Bradley Fold, told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser that the changes to the drinking guidelines had become a hot topic at the pub, sparking his decision to put up a poster with information about how many units are in each drink.
"A lot of people were talking about the amount of units in a pint of beer, a glass of wine and shots of spirits. One of the TV news reports led with a headline arguing drinking more than 14 units of alcohol could give you cancer, which started a fantastic debate on the subject. Most people presumed a pint was one unit and were astonished to find out that a pint of lager was between two or three units, and that a bottle of wine could be as many as 10.
"I believe it would be helpful if the number of units was displayed on alcohol as well as alcohol by volume percentage - and I will be writing to the Government to tell them my views."
Hornby, who is also a UKIP councillor for the Little Lever area of Bolton, said that, although customers had expressed their surprise at how many units alcohol drinks contain, there had been no downturn in sales.
However, fellow licensees were reluctant to follow his lead.
Claire Alexander, who runs the Ebrington Arms in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, said: "We are too busy with the amount of paperwork we have to do already and our drinks change too frequently to be able to keep this up. Do people really want to know when they are trying to let off steam anyway?"
The new guidelines advise that both men and women to drink no more than 14 units a week and there is no 'safe' level of drinking. Industry leaders said they were 'disappointed' not to be involved in a consultation on the issue.
