Removing the option of the largest serving of wine by the glass led to a reduction in the amount of wine sold at pubs and bars, a study has suggested.

The study, led by a team at the University of Cambridge, said the finding could offer a way of nudging people to drink less alcohol, which could make a meaningful contribution to their health.

Research carried out at licensed premises in Brighton and Hove, among other places, removed the option of a 250ml serving of wine for four weeks to investigate what impact it would have on consumption.

A total of 20 premises, mostly pubs, completed the experiment between September 2021 and May 2022.

In the study, managers at four of the venues reported receiving complaints from customers.

However, scientists found removing the largest wine glass led to an average decrease of 420ml of wine sold per day per venue - a 7.6 per cent decrease.

They also found no evidence people were making up for drinking less wine by buying more beer or cider.

The study also found there was no evidence that it affected total daily revenues, implying that participating licensed premises did not lose money as a result of removing the largest serving size for glasses of wine.

Experts suggest this may have been due to higher profit margins on smaller serving sizes of wine.

Dr Eleni Mantzari, one of the authors of the study, said: “It looks like when the largest serving size of wine by the glass was unavailable, people shifted towards the smaller options, but didn’t then drink the equivalent amount of wine.

“People tend to consume a specific number of units, in this case glasses, regardless of portion size.

“So someone might decide at the outset they’ll limit themselves to a couple of glasses of wine, and with less alcohol in each glass they drink less overall.”

Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, the study’s senior author, said that, as no level of alcohol consumption is considered safe for health, “even a small reduction could make a meaningful contribution to population health”.

Data suggests wine is the most commonly drunk alcoholic drink in the UK and Europe.