There is no amount of alcohol that is entirely risk-free for your health. The risk rises continuously with the amount you drink. The most cautious approach is therefore to drink less, and less often. On days when a person chooses to drink, limiting both how much and how often they drink helps reduce the risks associated with intoxication, accidents and injuries. It is safer not to drink at all before driving, during pregnancy, when taking certain medications, or when suffering from certain health conditions.

Keep track of your pace and estimate your blood alcohol level with the Calcoholator.

To learn more, see Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction and the “Alcohol” page of the Institut national de santé publique du Québec.

On average, the body eliminates about 0.1 g of alcohol per kilogram of body weight per hour, or about 7 g for a person weighing 70 kg, which works out to roughly half a Canadian standard drink per hour.

But this rate can vary from one person to the next depending on personal vulnerabilities (weight, genetics, liver health, diet, drinking habits).

Only time can lower your blood alcohol level: drinking water helps prevent dehydration; coffee or a cold shower may help you feel more awake or refreshed, but they do not reduce the amount of alcohol in your blood.

Try it: Educ’alcool’s Calcoholator lets you see how your estimated blood alcohol level changes over time.

Several factors influence how much alcohol ends up in your blood: how fast you drink, whether or not you have eaten, body composition (the proportion of water in the body, which is linked in particular to sex, weight and age), genetics, and liver health.

Other factors change how the body responds to the same blood alcohol level: acquired tolerance, age, fatigue, the use of medications or other substances, and certain health conditions, including mental health conditions. Finally, the circumstances (driving, physical activity, swimming, etc.) determine the level of risk.

That is why it is impossible to make recommendations that apply at all times and across the board to the entire population. 

The concept of the standard drink, sometimes called a “unit of alcohol,” can vary from one country to the next. It takes into account the type of drink, its alcohol percentage, and the amount poured. In Canada, a standard drink contains 13.45 g of pure alcohol:

• one 340 ml (12 oz) beer at 5% alcohol;
• one 140 ml (5 oz) glass of wine at 12% alcohol;
• one 45 ml (1.5 oz) serving of spirits at 40% alcohol;
• one 85 ml (3 oz) glass of port or fortified wine at 20% alcohol.

The Standard Drink Pourer is an easy-to-use tool for seeing what these equivalents actually look like.

The amount of alcohol in a drink depends on both its volume and its alcohol percentage. A drink contains more than one standard drink when the combination of the two exceeds 13.45 g of pure alcohol (about 17 ml).

The Educ’alcool Standard Drink Pourer helps you compare drinks and understand why two drinks that look the same can contain different amounts of alcohol.

The Standard Drink Pourer is an easy-to-use tool for seeing what these equivalents actually look like.

The amount of alcohol you have actually had depends mainly on the amount poured and the alcohol percentage, not just on the number of glasses or containers. Use the Calcoholator and the Standard Drink Pourer to keep better track of how much alcohol you have had.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, these terms refer to drinks with alcohol content below the following thresholds:

• Non-alcoholic: less than 0.05% alcohol;
• Dealcoholized: less than 0.5% alcohol;
• Low-alcohol: less than 1.1% alcohol.

Counting your drinks helps you stay in control of your drinking by making the actual amount of alcohol you have had more concrete—an amount people often tend to underestimate. Knowing where you stand makes it easier to stick to the limit you set in advance, to decide when it is time to switch to a non-alcoholic drink, and to make safer choices, such as deciding not to drive. For your count to be realistic, it is important to count standard drinks, not just the number of drinks served.

To find out more, see Count Your Drinks.

The effects of alcohol vary depending on the amount consumed, the pace of drinking, and the person’s physiological characteristics and condition.

In the long term, the health risks, including liver disease and certain cancers, depend mainly on the total amount of alcohol consumed and how often a person drinks over time.

In the short term, two categories of factors help explain the immediate effects of alcohol:

• Factors that influence blood alcohol level:

The amount of alcohol consumed and how quickly you drink it have a direct influence on blood alcohol level. Eating before or while drinking slows the absorption of alcohol, without reducing the total amount absorbed.

Genetics and the amount of water in the body also play a role: the less water the body contains, the more concentrated the alcohol is. The proportion of body water varies with age, biological sex, and body composition, among other things; weight alone is therefore not enough to predict blood alcohol level.

• Factors that change how the body responds to the same blood alcohol level:

At the same blood alcohol level, the effects felt and the degree of impairment can differ depending on acquired tolerance, fatigue, physical or mental health, the use of medications, and the use of other substances. A person who has developed a tolerance may feel certain effects less strongly, even though their blood alcohol level is no lower and they are still impaired. That is why two people with the same blood alcohol level do not necessarily react the same way.

Feeling the effects of alcohol less strongly does not mean that your blood alcohol level is lower or that you are not impaired.

Sources: Alcohol, Government of Quebec; Alcohol, INSPQ.

Eating foods that contain protein, carbohydrates, or fat before or while drinking can slow the passage of alcohol into the blood. The stomach absorbs about 20% of the alcohol, while the remaining 80% is absorbed very quickly in the small intestine. The presence of food, particularly fat and protein, delays the rush of alcohol into the intestine.

The alcohol is then absorbed more gradually, which can delay or lessen some of the effects you feel. However, this does not reduce the total amount of alcohol consumed or the associated risks: rather than causing a rapid rise in blood alcohol level, as happens when you drink on an empty stomach, absorption occurs at a steadier pace and the blood alcohol curve is spread out over time.

You should not rely solely on how you feel, because perceived tolerance does not always reflect the amount of alcohol in your blood. Coordination, attention, judgment, and reaction time can be impaired before a person even feels intoxicated.

Even with a blood alcohol level below 80 mg per 100 ml of blood, a person can be charged with impaired driving. The risk of an accident increases from the very first drinks, well before that limit is reached: the person is then putting their own life and the lives of others in danger.

See Conduite avec les facultés affaiblies par l’alcool, INSPQ [French only] and Drinking and Driving: What the Law Says, SAAQ.

Alcohol poisoning is a medical emergency caused by severe acute alcohol intoxication. It occurs when alcohol slows the functioning of the brain and body so much that it alters consciousness and compromises certain vital functions, such as breathing, body temperature, and the reflexes that prevent choking, like coughing and swallowing. An unconscious person can therefore choke on their own vomit or have their airway blocked by their tongue. The risks are serious: choking on vomit, respiratory arrest, hypothermia, hypoglycemia, irregular heartbeat, injuries from a fall, prolonged coma, or death.

A conscious person who is vomiting does not necessarily need emergency services. Signs that emergency help may be needed include loss of consciousness, extreme drowsiness or difficulty waking up, breathing that is slow, irregular, or interrupted by pauses, seizures, vomiting accompanied by reduced alertness, cold, clammy, pale, or bluish skin, or an abnormally low body temperature. As a guide, fewer than eight breaths per minute or pauses in breathing of about ten seconds or more should be taken very seriously. If these symptoms are present, it is best to call 911. While waiting for help, stay with the person, place them in the recovery position if they are drowsy or unconscious, monitor their breathing, and keep them warm. Do not give them anything to eat or drink, do not give them coffee, do not make them vomit, and do not leave them alone to “sleep it off.”

Caution : blood alcohol level can keep rising even after the person has stopped drinking or has lost consciousness, because the alcohol in the stomach and intestine continues to be absorbed. The situation can therefore get worse quickly, even if the person simply seems to be “sleeping.”

See Problems associated with alcohol consumption and drug use, Government of Quebec; Alcohol poisoning: Hey, are you ok?, Public HealthAgency of Canada; Health risks of alcohol, Health Canada.

Article 1471 of the Civil Code of Québec protects a person who selflessly comes to the assistance of another: they are generally exempt from liability for any injury that may result from their actions. However, this protection does not apply if the injury results from an intentional or gross fault. You should therefore act in good faith, with caution, and within the limits of your abilities, while promptly calling emergency services when the situation requires it.