Alcohol and your health
Drinking alcohol has many health risks. They can become worse if you drink alcohol frequently.
Risks include seven different types of cancer:
- Mouth cancer
- Pharynx cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Larynx cancer
- Colon and rectal cancer
- Liver cancer
- Breast cancer
Other risks include:
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Stroke
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How to protect your health
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Tips to protect your health from the risks of alcohol
- If you don't drink, don't start.
- Set a limit for yourself. Follow the Canadian Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines 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
- Avoid heavy drinking. Heavy drinking or binge drinking means:
- Five or more standard drinks for man on one occasion
- Four or more standard drinks for a woman on one occasion
- Look at the strength of your drink. Choose one with less alcohol content.
- Eat before you drink and while you drink.
- If you choose to drink and want to reduce your risk of cancer, the Canadian Cancer Society recommends:
- Drinking less than two standard drinks a day for men who are 25 years and older.
- Drinking less than one standard drink a day for women who are 25 years and older.
- Red wine and other alcohol have been promoted to have health benefits but this mainly applies to people over 45 years old with as little as 1 drink every other day. Any health benefit is lost with one event of heavy drinking.
- Do not drink if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding.
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What is a standard drink?
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- 341 ml (12 oz.) bottle 5 percent alcohol (beer, cider, coolers).
- 43 ml (1.5 oz.) shot of 40 percent hard liquor (vodka, rum, gin, whiskey).
- 142 ml (5 oz.) glass of 12 percent wine.
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Alcohol and pregnancy
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Alcohol can harm your baby's health. Be Safe: Have an alcohol-free pregnancy.
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Alcohol and youth
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In Durham, 65 per cent of high school students say they drank alcohol in the past year. The legal drinking age in Ontario is 19, but many teens begin drinking between the ages of 13 to 18.
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What are the risks for teens that drink?
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Youth who drink alcohol are at risk for harmful changes in the brain.
The brain is still developing until age 25. Drinking alcohol before the age of 25 may have long-term effects on:
- Problem solving skills, decision-making and memory.
- Sleep disturbances.
- Addiction.
- Chronic diseases such as cancer.
Teens that begin to drinking at an early age are at risk of having problems related to alcohol later in life.
Heavy drinking can lead to:
- Trouble in school.
- Experiences with violence, such as physical or sexual assault.
- Motor vehicle collision, falls or drowning that cause injuries or death.
- Risky sexual behaviour.
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How you can support your teen
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Here are some ways you can help your teen make healthy decisions around alcohol:
- Talk to your teen about their thoughts on alcohol.
- Be informed about what is going on in your teen's life.
- Remind your teen that not everyone is drinking.
- Spend time together as a family.
- Be a good role model for your teen. Make healthy decisions.
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Alcohol and our community
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Alcohol affects our community.
When there are bars and/or alcohol stores close together in an area, there are more:
- Crashes
- Violence
- Injuries
- Heavy drinking
- Disease and death- especially in communities that may have lower incomes
People drink more alcohol when there are:
- Many alcohol stores in one area.
- Alcohol stores with longer hours.
- Discounted or low-cost alcoholic drinks.
- Alcohol advertisements.
- Alcohol sponsored events.
Durham Region works with municipalities to create safe communities with strategies that focus on the responsible use of alcohol.
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Municipal Alcohol Policy
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What is a municipal alcohol policy?
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A municipal alcohol policy aims to protect the community's health. Municipal alcohol policies address activities and factors that contribute to alcohol-related issues.
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How do municipal alcohol policies work?
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Municipal alcohol policies must use different strategies to work well. Municipal alcohol policies should include these six key policy components:
- Identification of which properties, facilities and events can serve alcohol.
- Directions for how alcohol should be handled at events.
- Prevention strategies.
- Consequences and penalties for not following the policy.
- Information to be put on signs.
- Policy support.
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How to create a municipal alcohol policy
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Public Health Ontario provides Eight Steps for Creating a Municipal Alcohol Policy.
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Resources for municipal alcohol policy
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Curriculum support
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Resources for educators
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