Why pattern matters as much as total
Two people can drink the same 14 units per week with very different risk profiles. Consuming all 14 units on a single Saturday night carries higher acute risks — impaired judgement, injury, alcohol poisoning — than spreading the same amount across four or five occasions during the week. This is the basis for the UK guideline specifying that drinking should be spread across at least 3 days.
Daily drinking, even at modest quantities, carries its own risk profile. Regular daily intake can accelerate tolerance development, physical dependence, and liver stress, even when weekly units remain within the guideline. Identifying the specific pattern is therefore as important as counting the total.