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Talking About Drinking
If you do drink, be sure to follow the Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines to reduce alcohol-related harms. These guidelines are for healthy people over the age of 19.
 | Have you ever felt that you should Cut down on your drinking? Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking? Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking? Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning; an Eye-opener to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover? |
These questions are from the CAGE questionnaire, a useful tool that can help you understand if your drinking may be causing you or others harm. Health care professionals use CAGE questions to assess someone’s feelings, thoughts, or behaviours related to their drinking in the past twelve months. If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, you may be at risk of alcohol-related harms such as high blood pressure, stroke, some cancers, injuries, and/ or an early death.
If you think you might have a drinking problem, you’re not alone. In 2005, 25% of Ontarians 18 and older who drank alcohol in the previous twelve months had one or more of the following alcohol-related problems:
Lack of control over drinking.
Failure to meet normal duties.
Drinking first thing in the morning.
Having feelings of guilt.
Having black-outs.
Getting hurt.
Having a family member, friend, or doctor express concern about their drinking.
Drinking too much will lead to alcohol-related harms! Knowing and admitting that you drink too much is an important first step in getting the help you need. If you drink too much, contact your health care professional or substance abuse representative to discuss:
- How much you drink.
- When you drink.
- Your pattern of drinking.
Together, you’ll talk about ways to reduce your drinking, assess your current and future alcohol-related harms, and set reasonable goals. As you work toward your goal and reach your target, your health care professional and substance abuse representative will support you and help you stay on track over the long run.
| If you do drink, be sure to follow the Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines (below) to reduce alcohol-related harms. These guidelines are for healthy people over the age of 19. |
Low-Risk Drinking GUIDELINES |
0 | Zero drinks = lowest risk of an alcohol-related problem. |
2 | No more than 2 standard drinks on any one day. |
9 | Women - up to 9 standard drinks a week. |
14 | Men - up to 14 standard drinks a week. |
A standard drink is 5 oz of wine or 1.5 oz of spirits or 12 oz of beer (Note: Coolers and higher alcohol beers have more alcohol than one standard drink). |
People can change. People can stop or cut-down on their drinking. It takes hard work, support, and time. Talk to others about making this important lifestyle changes.
KEY REFERENCES:
Ewing, J.A. (1984). Detecting alcoholism: the CAGE questionnaire. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 252, 1905-1907. Retrieved November 28, 2008, from http://www.cma.ca/multimedia/CMA/Content_Images/Inside_cma/WhatWePublish/Drivers_Guide/AppendixB_e.pdf
University of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. (n.d.).Low-risk drinking guidelines. Retrieved November 28,
2008, from http://www.lrdg.net/guidelines.html
