Guideline 1 (Your limits)
Reduce your long-term health risks by drinking no more than:
- 10 drinks a week for women, with no more than 2 drinks a day most days
- 15 drinks a week for men, with no more than 3 drinks a day most days
Plan non-drinking days every week to avoid developing a habit.
Guideline 2 (Special occasions)
Reduce your risk of injury and harm by drinking no more than 3 drinks (for women) and 4 drinks (for men) on any single occasion.
Plan to drink in a safe environment. Stay within the weekly limits outlined in Guideline 1.
Guideline 3 (When zero’s the limit)
Do not drink when you are:
- driving a vehicle or using machinery and tools
- taking medicine or other drugs that interact with alcohol
- doing any kind of dangerous physical activity
- living with mental or physical health problems
- living with alcohol dependence
- pregnant or planning to be pregnant
- responsible for the safety of others
- making important decisions
Guideline 4 (Pregnant? Zero is safest)
If you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or about to breastfeed, the safest choice is to drink no alcohol at all.
Guideline 5 (Delay your drinking)
Alcohol can harm the way the body and brain develop. Teens should speak with their parents about drinking. If they choose to drink, they should do so under parental guidance; never more than 1–2 drinks at a time, and never more than 1–2 times per week. They should plan ahead, follow local alcohol laws and consider the Safer drinking tips listed in this brochure.
Youth in their late teens to age 24 years should never exceed the daily and weekly limits outlined in Guideline 1 (Your limits).
|
Tips
- Set limits for yourself and abide by them.
- Drink slowly. Have no more than 2 drinks in any 3 hours.
- For every drink of alcohol, have one non-alcoholic drink.
- Eat before and while you are drinking.
- Always consider your age, body weight and health problems that might suggest lower limits.
- While drinking may provide health benefits for certain groups of people, do not start to drink, or increase your drinking, for health benefits.
| | |
For these guidelines,
“a drink” means:
- 341 ml (12 oz.) bottle of 5% alcohol content (beer, cider or cooler)
- 142 ml (5 oz.) glass of wine with 12% alcohol content
- 43 ml (1.5 oz.) serving of 40% distilled alcohol content (rye, gin, rum, etc.)
Low-risk drinking helps to promote a culture of moderation.
Low-risk drinking supports healthy lifestyles. |
Reference:
Butt, P., Beirness, D., Gliksman, L., Paradis, C., & Stockwell, T. (2011). Alcohol and health in Canada: A summary of evidence and guidelines for low-risk drinking. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.
Who developed these guidelines?
Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines were developed by a team of independent Canadian and international experts, on behalf of the National Alcohol Strategy Advisory Committee (NASAC). The guidelines are a key component of the National Alcohol Strategy.
On November 25, 2011, Federal, Provincial and Territorial Health Ministers received Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines as the best available advice to Canadians for low-risk drinking, and will promote the use of the Guidelines within their jurisdictions as appropriate.
Supporters of the Guidelines
Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines have received the support of many respected national and regional Canadian organizations, including:
- Association of Canadian Distillers
- Association of Local Public Health Agencies
- Brewers Association of Canada
- Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police
- Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
- Canadian Medical Association
- Canadian Paediatric Society
- Canadian Public Health Association
- Canadian Vintners Association
- Centre for Addiction Research of British Columbia
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
- College of Family Physicians of Canada
- Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health
- Educ’alcool
- MADD Canada
- Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness
- Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
Interested in supporting Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines? If your organization would like to apply to become an official supporter, please email us at alcohol@ccsa.ca