A British addiction expert says that a trend toward using larger wine glasses is helping to fuel alcohol problems in the U.K., the Independent reported June 5.

"The size of measures and glasses have grown in recent years," said Nick Gully, director of addiction services at the Priory Clinic in Roehampton, England. "People have become used to these outsized glasses. They fill them up and believe it's OK because they are only having one glass, but that can now amount to a third of a bottle."

Gully added: "It's the same in pubs. Someone goes to a bar and feels cheated if they are given a small glass. People expect larger measures. They have become normalized and, with it, the amount of alcohol we drink has gone up and has become normalized by society, as well."

The bigger glasses are helping to create "unwitting" alcoholics, he said.

British law has long regulated drink sizes in pubs. The standard used to be 125 ml for a glass of wine, but that increased to 175 ml last year. At home, some Britons are using glasses than can contain 250 ml of wine.