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Beer, brandy or wine Alcohol content in grams instead of percent indicated?
The one or other glass of wine or beer will not be so bad, many think. But alcohol can affect the senses even in very small quantities. A physician now asks to indicate the alcohol content no longer in percent, but in grams. That would make it easier to calculate how much you have in mind.
Hardly a sociable round without alcohol
According to a survey, almost every second man drinks his after-work beer. Even sociable rounds with friends, Christmas market visits or company parties are usually accompanied by drinking a few glasses of beer or wine. Especially now in the cold season is then increasingly used their own car as a means of transport. Many are unaware of how fast - even less - alcohol can work. An expert wants to simplify the calculation of the alcohol level.
Some glasses of mulled wine or beer will not be that bad, some think. But driving is already impaired by small amounts of alcohol. According to a doctor, it would be better to give the alcohol content in grams. (Image: Hanker / fotolia.com) Harmful consumption
"Overall, at least ten percent of the population drink enough alcohol to endanger their health. Alcohol problems are thus one of the most common health problems at all, "writes the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) on its website.
According to the experts, a permanently high alcohol consumption can damage all organs of the body. Alcoholism increases the risk of numerous diseases such as high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, heart failure, fatty liver, nerve damage or various cancers such as colorectal cancer.
Even small quantities affect the ability to drive
In addition, alcohol affects our senses, even in small quantities. Although many people think that one, two glasses of beer or mulled wine do not harm their ability to drive, they say: "Far from it," says Gernot Rücker, emergency physician at Rostock University Medical Center. In a message from the news agency dpa, the expert explains why it would be better to give the alcohol content in grams.
Alcohol amount in grams
His gram table shows that two bottles of beer à 0.5 liters in a 100-kilogram man lead to more than 0.5 per thousand - according to Road Traffic Act an administrative offense. And with a woman weighing 60 kilos, two glasses of red wine at twelve percent by volume bring about one tenth of a blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
The current value for alcoholic beverages in volume percent indicates how much of the total volume is accounted for by pure alcohol (ethanol). But to calculate the blood alcohol level, the amount of alcohol in grams is needed. In the meantime, there are numerous per thousand computers on the Internet.
According to Rücker, such an invoice with a direct indication of the amount of alcohol in grams would be quite simple. Therefore, he asks that amounts of alcohol per bottle be specified in the future. According to the expert, the corresponding table values are easy to memorize and have remained constant.
Teenagers in particular should know what they are doing to themselves. "And that goes with gram indication and the knowledge of the table values. Sitting in the bar and calculating a rule of three with an unknown person is illogical. "
Appropriate handling of alcohol
Rücker explains in the dpa report: "Every year around 70,000 people die as a result of alcohol consumption, and 5,000 people die of acute alcohol poisoning. And almost a third of all crimes and most of the rapes are done under the influence of alcohol. "
According to the information, German courts withdrew nearly 50,000 driver's licenses in the year 2015.
"I have a lot of sympathy for everything that makes the consumer a moderate use of alcohol easier," said the Drug Commissioner of the Federal Government, Marlene Mortler, to Rücker demand. However, she is skeptical given the high number of people who drink too much.
Whether the labeling actually brings added value depends on further additional information on the packaging for the calculation depending on gender and body weight.
The BZgA has posted on its Internet portal for the alcohol prevention campaign "Alcohol? Know Your Limit "Good tips to help you" stay in limit with alcohol consumption ". The experts recommend, among other things: "Do not drink alcohol fast. Take your time "and" Drink a glass of water or juice spritzer again and again ".
Every year a bathtub full of alcohol
According to the agency message, the Federal Association of the German Spirits Industry refers to the information that manufacturers have to print on the labels. Accordingly, all other information that is of interest to the end user can be found on the website "massvoll-geniessen.de".
"We assume that consumers will also be comprehensively informed off-label," says managing director Angelika Wiesgen-Pick.
Medic Rücker doubts it. According to the BZgA every German drinks on average almost ten liters of alcohol per year. Translated into common alcoholics such as beer or wine that is about a bath full. According to the doctor, people had forgotten how to differentiate the stimulant from the intoxicant. "We do not have a measure anymore." (Ad)