To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level it is safest to drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days with several drink-free days, and no bingeing. Find out more about the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines on weekly limits, single occasion drinking, and not drinking during pregnancy.
The risk of developing a range of health problems increases the more you drink on a regular basis. That’s why the UK’s top doctors – the Chief Medical Officers – have created low risk drinking guidelines to help you keep your risks from alcohol low.1
It’s safest for both men and women to drink no more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days with several drink-free days, and no bingeing.
If you choose to drink alcohol, it’s important to understand the risks so you can make informed choices about your drinking. The UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) have developed these low risk drinking guidelines,2 based on up-to-date scientific evidence, to help you do just that.
The guidelines offer advice on weekly/ regular drinking, single occasion drinking, and specific advice on why not drinking is the safest approach during pregnancy.
The Chief Medical Officers' low risk drinking guidelines for both men and women are:
14 units is equivalent to six pints of average strength beer (4% ABV) or six medium (175ml) glasses of average strength wine (13% ABV)3
The NHS defines binge drinking as ‘drinking heavily over a short period of time’. Another way of thinking about it is ‘drinking to get drunk’. The technical definition of binge drinking is more than six units in a single session for women and eight units in a single session for men.4 That’s equivalent to just over three medium glasses of wine (13% ABV) for a woman and less than four pints of normal strength beer (4% ABV) for a man.5,6
The Chief Medical Officers' also offer advice for men and women who want to keep their short-term risks (as well as some longer-term risks) from single occasion drinking to a low level. You can reduce them by:7
The sorts of things that are more likely to happen if you misjudge your overall alcohol intake on a single occasion can include:8
Some groups of people are more likely to be affected by alcohol and should be more careful about their drinking on any occasion. For example, people who are at risk of falls, and anyone taking medication that may interact with alcohol.9,10
‘Pre-loading’ (drinking before going out) is associated with higher levels of alcohol consumption, and greater risk.11
The Chief Medical Officers' guidelines are:12
The risk of harm to the baby is likely to be low if you have drunk only small amounts of alcohol before you knew you were pregnant or during pregnancy.
Avoiding alcohol completely keeps risks for the baby to a minimum. If you didn’t know you were pregnant and drank alcohol during early pregnancy, talk to your GP or midwife about any concerns you have. Just because you may have drunk a little alcohol does not necessarily mean that your unborn baby has come to any harm.13
If you’re worried about having drunk alcohol during pregnancy, the Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines advise you to talk to your doctor or midwife about it.
There are several laws relating to buying and consuming alcohol for under-18s. Find out more.
One unit of alcohol is 10ml (millilitres) or 8g (grams) of pure alcohol.14
The number of units you are drinking depends on the size and strength of your drink. As an example, a pint of average strength (4% ABV) beer has about two units in it, while a single measure (25ml) of typical spirits is one unit.15
Use our unit and calorie calculator below to work out how many units are in your drinks.
Sticking to the CMOs’ low risk drinking guidelines can help keep your risk low from accidents and injuries, physical or sexual abuse, alcohol poisoning and a range of long-term health conditions – including seven types of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and mental health problems.
The UK Chief Medical Officers' low risk drinking guidelines are available to view, in full, online.
Here are some other advice and information pages linked to the low risk drinking guidelines.
Last Reviewed: 19th February 2026
Next Review due: 19th February 2029
