More than two-thirds of beer and wine served in UK pubs and bars is short measured, a survey by Trading Standards suggests.
Officers who visited 77 pubs and bars were served 96 short measures out of 137 orders, meaning approximately 70% were less than the prescribed quantity required by The Weights and Measures Order for pints and half pints and 175ml glasses of wine.
Of the short measures, 41 were under by 5% or more – 29% of the 137 drinks tested.
Some 86% of all beer ordered was short measured, as was 43% of wine.
The average deficit for short-measured beer was 4%, while for wine it was 5%.
For the average beer drinker, this equates to a loss of £1.70 per week, or £88.40 a year, and for an average wine drinker in the UK this jumps to £2.20 per week or £114.40 per year, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) said.
Fraud is bad but the amount given is a very small fraction of the total cost of alcohol consumption, poisoning yourself has consequences and there’s no safe dose of alcohol