I’ll have 125ml of the house red please…
January 15th, 2010

So, here’s a recent idea from a politician: to change labelling on alcohol to replace Units with Centilitres.

I’d be interested to know your thoughts. In the meantime, here’s why I think it’s a bad idea.

Very simply, when was the last time you ordered ’125ml of the house red’ or ’275ml of Becks (other beers available)’? I have one vice in life, but I’ve never asked for ‘a 330ml of Coca Cola’. We get used to thinking in named amounts: a glass, a bottle or a can. Even when ‘a pint’ is ordered, the name is not really a reference to the quantity, but to the way it’s served.

Equally unaware as we really are of the quantities of liquid in a drink, so we would be with the concept of centilitres. If units were replaced with centilitres, it would simply be with a more detailed version of the same thing, and certainly not one that was easier to understand.

By using centilitres (1% of a litre if you’re interested) life becomes more complicated because you’re asking people to think of a very small percentage of an amount.

What’s more important is how the concept of ‘units’ we have, that people are already vaguely familiar with, can be more effectively communicated. As far as I can see, they exist for two reasons:
1) to show what’s healthy
2) to show what’s safe (I’m mostly thinking about driving here)

In a sense, despite the politician’s suggestions, I think the health information is of secondary importance. I’m no expert but most people understand that alcohol does you harm, but that’s not enough to stop them drinking.

What is more important is how the information about units can be presented to the best effect to prevent them causing harm to others. By asking people to interpret centilitres, the chances of misunderstanding increase.