Under the new plan to improve the liquor legislation in Western Australia, the glasses at pubs and clubs will display their alcohol volume in standard drinks.

According to Graham Jacobs, the mental health minister, too many drinkers were unclear about the number of standard drinks in a pint of beer or a glass of wine.

Dr Jacobs stated that one of the criticisms of the anti-binge drinking programs that they run was that people were confused about what a standard drink was.

I thought there was enough information out there for people to understand what a standard drink was, but obviously there isn't.

What I would like to see are marks on the glasses, which actually say how many standard drinks it is, said Dr Jacobs.

Based on the standard Australia measure, the standard drink is any drink containing 10g of alcohol. A pint of full-strength beer is equivalent to 1.6 standard drinks and the average glass of red wine served at a restaurant is equivalent to 1.6 standard drinks.

The proposal has been backed up by the Australian Medical Association of WA, and has been written to a state parliamentary inquiry on alcohol abuse calling for the change.

Bradley Woods, chief executive of Australian Hotels Association, however said the proposal would be a logistical nightmare for hoteliers - as the same type of glass is usually used to serve different strengths of liquor. For instance, a pint glass is used for light, medium or full-strength beer.

Mr Woods said, The labeling of any alcohol packaging or vessels is a commonwealth issue that needs to be considered across all states and territories in light of glassware being used for many different variants of alcohol, which all have a different standard drink measure.

Susan Rooney, chief executive of Cancer Council said it was vital that people realized how much they were drinking and the risk factors related. She supported any plan to educate the community on the volume of a standard drink.

In an effore to raise funds for adult cancer patients at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Dr Jacobs is participating in the Dry July Campaign - where people are sponsored to abstain from alcohol for the month.

Australia