It is a question that most people ask themselves when ordering a glass of wine: small, medium or large?
But eliminating the largest portion (in most cases, the 250ml option) can reduce the amount of wine bars and pubs sell by around 8 percent, one study suggests.
Although modest, experts say it could provide a way to encourage customers to drink less alcohol and improve population health.
Alcohol consumption is the fifth largest contributor to premature death and disease worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, harmful alcohol use caused approximately 3 million deaths worldwide in 2016.
It is a question that most people ask themselves when ordering a glass of wine: small, medium or large? But eliminating the largest portion (in most cases, the 250ml option) can reduce the amount of wine bars and pubs sell by around 8 percent, one study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge carried out their study in 21 licensed premises (mainly pubs) in England.
They removed the largest serving of wine glass for four weeks, to see if there would be an impact on the amount consumed.
The shot is the most consumed alcoholic beverage in the United Kingdom and Europe. It is usually offered in three glass sizes: 125 ml, 175 ml and 250 ml.
Studies have said that the introduction of the broader measure, which began to become more popular in the 1990s, encourages drinkers to consume more.
An analysis, published in the journal Plos Medicine, revealed that removing the 250 ml option led to an average decrease of 420 ml of wine sold per day per location, the equivalent of a 7.6 percent decrease.
There was no evidence that sales of beer and cider increased, suggesting that people were not compensating for their reduced wine consumption by drinking more of these alcoholic beverages.
There was also no evidence that it affected total daily revenue, implying that participating pubs and bars did not lose money as a result, perhaps due to the higher profit margins on smaller wine glasses.
The latest data, collected by the World Health Organization and compiled by the Oxford University-backed platform Our World in Data, shows that wine consumption in the UK has soared to 3.3 liters of pure alcohol per year (2019), compared to the 0.3 liters recorded almost 60 years earlier. in 1961. It now accounts for more than a third (33.7 percent) of all alcohol consumed nationwide and is almost on par with beer (36 percent), which has plummeted from 5.8 liters registered in 1961 to the current 3.5 liters.
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First author Dr Eleni Mantzari said: “It appears that when the larger portion of wine by the glass was not available, people opted for the smaller options, but then did not drink the equivalent amount of wine.”
«People tend to consume a specific number of “units” (in this case, glasses) regardless of the serving size.
“So someone might decide early on that they will limit themselves to a couple of glasses of wine and, with less alcohol in each glass, drink less overall.”
According to the researchers, although removing the largest glass would potentially be acceptable to pub or bar managers, given there is no evidence that it would result in a loss of revenue, the alcohol industry would likely resist a nationwide policy due to to its potential to reduce sales of specific beverages.
On average, one in five Britons (22.8 per cent), around 9.4 million, exceeds the weekly NHS recommendation, official data shows. However, this rate has fallen: one in four adults recorded more than 14 units per week between 2011 and 2014. But the highest rates of alcohol consumption are in the least deprived areas, with the least socioeconomically deprived decile recording a rate of 24.1. percent
The NHS recommends that people drink no more than 14 “units” of alcohol (around six glasses of wine or pints of beer) per week. This itself has been diluted in recent decades in light of studies illustrating the health dangers of alcohol.
According to OECD data published last year, almost one in five adults reported binge drinking at least once a month, on average across 29 OECD countries in 2019. The figure varies tenfold, from less than 3 percent in Turkey up to more than 30 percent. percent in Germany, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Denmark
Public support for such a policy would depend on its effectiveness and the clarity with which it was communicated.
Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, lead author of the study, said: “It is worth remembering that no level of alcohol consumption is considered safe for health, and even light consumption contributes to the development of many cancers.”
“Although the reduction in the amount of wine sold at each location was relatively small, even a small reduction could contribute significantly to the health of the population.”
Evidence suggests that the public prefers information-based interventions, such as health warning labels, to reductions in portion or package sizes.
In this study, managers at four of the 21 locations reported receiving customer complaints.