Beer glasses are too big, say scientists – that’s why they want to shrink the traditional pint

Your beer glass may soon get smaller — and this time, it’s not about shrinking.

A group of UK scientists – interested in finding innovative ways to encourage the public to cut down on excessive alcohol consumption – have published the findings of a study involving a dozen pubs, bars and restaurants where pint glasses were swapped for something a little smaller.

The research, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, suggested that offering two-thirds of a pint as the largest size in bars across the country could be a boon to public health.

Researchers noted that during the trial, beer sales fell 9.7%. The move could reduce the extent of alcohol-related suffering, they said.

In the state, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), there are more than 178,000 deaths each year related to excessive alcohol use – making alcohol one of the leading preventable causes of death.

The British pint, known as the imperial pint, contains 20 oz. juice, while the American line contains 16 oz. – already approximately 20% less than in the entire basin.

“Alcohol damages our health, increasing the risk of injury and many diseases, including heart disease, bowel, breast and liver cancer,” said Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, lead author of the study and director of the University’s behavioral and health research unit. of Cambridge. a statement.

“While we can all enjoy a drink, the less we drink, the better our health. Removing the larger serving size for beer, lager and cider – in this case, the pint – could encourage people to drink less. This can be beneficial to both the health of the nation and the health of individuals,” Marteau said.

The test was based on the idea that people often think in portions rather than portion sizes, grabbing a beer or a glass of wine, rather than sitting around arguing about milliliters or grams.

When a similar trial with wine was conducted earlier this year, sales of the wine dropped when the larger glass size was removed.

Marteau and her team asked bars across the country to drop the pint serving size and instead offer two-thirds as the largest option for four weeks, with four-week no-intervention periods before and after as a comparison.

While doing so reduced the average daily volume of beer, lager and cider, it increased the sale of wine.

The customers themselves didn’t complain, the researchers said, but the meeting places were hesitant. Less than 1% of the approached countries agreed to participate and only 13 institutions were eventually included.

Matt Beety, owner of one of the participating venues, told The Guardian that the customer mindset was already shifting away from pints to something smaller, and while some questioned why they couldn’t get a pint, most simply got on with the new rules.

“Removing the offer of pints in 13 licensed premises for 4 weeks reduced the volume of beer sold. This is consistent with the emerging literature showing that smaller serving sizes help us drink less and represents a new way to reduce alcohol consumption and improve population health,” the authors write.

The authors also noted that further research would need to be done – as the findings were limited due to a lack of information on whether people compensated for less beer by drinking other alcoholic beverages.