Canada’s
Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines
Drinking is a personal choice. If you choose to drink, these guidelines can help you decide when, where, why and how.
10 drinks a week for women, with no more than 2 drinks a day most days
Your limits
Reduce your long-term health risks by drinking no more than:
Plan non-drinking days every week to avoid developing a habit.
Special occasions
Reduce your risk of injury and harm by drinking no more than 3 drinks (for women) or 4 drinks (for men) on any single occasion.
Plan to drink in a safe environment. Stay within the weekly limits outlined above in Your limits.
When zero’s the limit
Do not drink when you are:
Pregnant? Zero is safest
If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, or about to breastfeed, the safest choice is to drink no alcohol at all.
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 Your limits.
The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute is an official supporter of Canada’s Low Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines (LRDG). Based on research, the goal of the guidelines is to reduce health and safety risks for people who choose to drink alcohol.
The LRDGs define standard drink sizes as: 5 oz. wine, 1.5 oz. hard liquor, and 12 oz. bottle of beer, cider or cooler. For safer drinking, the recommendations for maximum amounts of alcohol per week are:
For more information on the Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines, please go to www.ccsa.ca.