Canada recommends just two drinks per week—how does the UK compare?

Canada is advising the public to reduce their alcohol intake to one or two drinks per week, to protect against cancer
Alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health, and disability among 15- to 49-year-olds in the UK
Ian West / PA
Nuray Bulbul19 January 2023

Canada is saying zero alcohol is the only risk-free approach, with two drinks maximum each week deemed low-risk by the government-backed guidance.

The nearly 90-page report, from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), funded by Health Canada, details a variety of health risks associated with what was previously considered low alcohol consumption.

As alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health, and disability among 15- to 49-year-olds in the UK, and the fifth-biggest risk factor across all ages, we take a look at the Canadian recommendations, and what the recommendations are in this country and abroad.

Why does Canada recommend two drinks per week?

Any more than two standard drinks, which are each the equivalent of a 12-ounce (341ml; 0.6 pints) serving of five per cent alcohol beer or a five-ounce (142ml; 0.26 pints) glass of 12 per cent alcohol wine increases the risk of adverse outcomes, including breast and colon cancer, according to the CCSA.

Erin Hobin, a senior scientist with Public Health Ontario and a member of the expert panel that developed the guidelines said: “The main message from this new guidance is that any amount of alcohol is not good for your health. And if you drink, less is better.

“The new guidance is maybe a bit shocking. I think it’s very new information for the public that, at three standard drinks per week, the risk for head and neck cancers increases by 15 per cent, and further increases with every additional drink.

“Three standard drinks per week to most Canadians wouldn’t be considered a large amount of alcohol,” she added.

What does the UK recommend?

The UK advises against consuming more than 14 units of alcohol per week, or around six glasses of wine or pints of beer.

Although the guidance isn’t enforced, it is there to lower your risk of harming your health.

The NHS has written a number of tips to help reduce your alcohol intake. These include setting yourself a weekly unit target, switching from stronger stuff, sticking with it, setting up a booze budget, and thinking of other ways to socialise with friends, such as bowling.

How does the rest of the world compare?

The new suggestions distance the nation from a number of other Western countries. Australia's official guidelines, which were released in 2020, suggest a weekly limit of 10 standard drinks. The same is proposed by France.

The US advises against having more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.

Similar to Canada, the health council of Netherlands recommended that people limit their alcohol consumption to one standard drink per day or refrain from it entirely, as of 2015.

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