Health campaigners are calling for better alcohol labelling as a survey found just one in five Britons know how many calories are in a glass of wine.
Just 20% of the public could correctly estimate how many calories are in a medium 175ml glass of wine at 12% ABV (133kcal), the YouGov poll for Action on Smoking and Health found.
Just under a quarter of the public (23%) could correctly estimate how many calories were in a pint of lager at 5% ABV (239kcal).
Estimates were deemed correct in the survey if they were within 50% of the true value.
Just 18% of the public know that the chief medical officers’ drinking guideline is to drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week, while 34% did not know and 48% answered incorrectly.
Alcohol awareness organisations have called for more information to be put on drink labels (PA)
Alcoholic drinks should have their calorie content on the label, health campaigners say.
The Alcohol Health Alliance and the Alcohol Focus Scotland charity are calling for changes to labelling laws so the calories in drinks are clearly shown.
It follows a YouGov poll that found only a quarter of people surveyed correctly estimated there are between 120 and 359 calories in a pint of lager, while 22% knew there are 67-200 calories in a medium glass of wine.
The law currently requires alcoholic products to show the strength of alcohol (ABV), the volume of the drink and any allergens contained in them. Ingredients, nutritional information and health risks are all optional.
Campaigners call for improved alcohol labelling due to public confusion
Just 20% of people can estimate how many calories are in a medium glass of wine
Some Brits could not identify the calories in alcohol. (Image: Getty Images)
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Current laws only require firms to show the strength of alcohol, allergens and the container’s volume. Any other information, such as ingredients and calorie content is optional – setting it apart from the food and soft drinks industries. Campaigners believe this is wrong for a product that causes 10 deaths every day in Scotland.
READ MORE: New research carried out for Alcohol Focus Scotland found that just 23 per cent of Scots were aware of the recommended, maximum number of alcohol units (14) while only a quarter knew how many calories were in the average pint of beer. It is unacceptable that a product linked to 10 deaths a day in Scotland continues to be exempt from laws
Call for calorie content labelling on alcoholic drinks bbc.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bbc.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.