UK retailers have unveiled a national campaign to raise consumer understanding about the number of units in their alcoholic drinks.
The campaign forms part of retailer's commitment to the public health Responsibility Deal and is being rolled out in stores across the UK.
It is supported by major retailer members of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association, British Retail Consortium and the Association of Convenience Stores including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Spar, Morrisons, the Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl.
The 'How many units in your drink?' message will be displayed on posters, shelf barkers and till screen adverts in store to encourage consumers to understand how much alcohol is in their favourite drink. This follows extensive research conducted with consumers and retailers in partnership with Drinkaware.
The '2-2-2-1' message, which ties in with that currently on display in pubs and bars, shows the number of units in a typical can of 4% abv lager, 330ml bottle of 5% lager, 175 ml glass of 12% ABV wine and a single measure of a 40% ABV spirit.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley MP said: "Drinking too much can increase your risk of high blood pressure, cancer or liver disease. So it's great to see all the major retailers getting behind the Responsibility Deal's work to improve awareness of alcohol units.
"Thousands of stores around the country will now help people understand how many units are in drinks they buy and help them keep track of how much they are drinking. This coincides with the launch of a new Change4Life alcohol campaign - if people want to track their drinking they should visit the Change4Life website and use the new online drinks calculator."
WSTA Interim chief executive Gavin Partington said: "This demonstrates the commitment of the major retailers to deliver the objectives of the public health Responsibility Deal by providing simple and effective unit information at point of sale to millions of consumers across the UK."
