It's what's in the cup

EDITOR:

As Labor Day, with all its picnics and parties approaches, here is some food for thought.

Ever leave a party and wonder why you have a foggy head, when you only had one or two drinks? Maybe it is not the number of drinks that is important, but the content of those drinks. When asking people how much they pour for a single drink, you will likely get a different answer from everyone you ask. These varying sizes of drinks could put you at risk for an inadvertent binge and/or a higher level of intoxication than you may have been prepared for. So what is the standard? What exactly is "one drink?"

In general, when someone refers to one beer, the size is a 12-ounce beer. Be careful when drinking from those 16-ounce red tumblers. A glass of wine is 5 ounces. Forget about filling the glass up to near the brim. Most wine glasses are capable of holding more than 8 ounces of liquid, very close to the equivalent of two drinks. A cocktail could contain more than one type of liquor to create its unique taste. Remember that one drink is 1 ounce of 80 proof alcohol, so if your cocktail has more than one liquor in it, you are probably consuming more than the equivalent of one drink per cocktail.

Most adults who drink, do so responsibly. Just remember, to be a responsible drinker means to know how much alcohol is in the drinks you are consuming. Don't let a binge inadvertently sneak up on you.

Martie Washington

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