To reduce the amount of alcohol you drink over the course of an evening, the most useful thing is to set a limit before you start drinking, then plan your evening so that you can stick to it. You can also:

• have a simple line ready for saying no to a drink
• decide when you will have your last drink
• pour your own drinks, preferably in small amounts
• keep count of your drinks
• avoid letting your glass be topped up before it is empty
• avoid drinking games
• say no to automatic rounds
• drink slowly
• eat during the evening

Alternating can also be a useful strategy, as long as it actually reduces the total amount of alcohol you drink: for example, alternating an alcoholic drink with water, a non-alcoholic drink, or a mocktail. Low-alcohol drinks can help reduce the amount of alcohol you consume, but they still contain alcohol; they should therefore not be considered equivalent to water or non-alcoholic drinks.

To learn more, use Count Your Drinks, explore Alternalcool, and check out the harm reduction tools for party settings from the Groupe de recherche et d’intervention psychosociale.

Alternating can come naturally when you choose appealing, nicely presented drinks that suit the occasion: mocktails, non-alcoholic beers, flavoured waters, and so on. The idea is to be able to raise your glass and toast with everyone else, without feeling like you are missing out or that you have to explain yourself. The point is to keep the festive spirit and the pleasure of good flavours while drinking less alcohol.

This strategy is most useful when it actually reduces the number of alcoholic drinks you have. It can help you slow your pace, avoid drinks taken “out of habit,” keep better count of your standard drinks, and stick more easily to the limit you set in advance.

Check out Alternalcool, which offers recipes and lists venues that serve high-quality alcohol-free options.

Saying no to a drink can be easier when you already have a strategy in mind. A short answer is often enough, with no need for a long explanation: “No thanks,” “I’m slowing down,” “I’m taking a break,” or “I’m driving tonight.”

It can also help to order or pour your own drinks, rather than waiting to be offered one, so that you stay in control of what you drink.

To avoid drawing attention, you can choose a non-alcoholic drink that looks like what everyone else is having: same type of glass, ice, garnish, or festive presentation. Keeping a non-alcoholic drink in your hand can also cut down on repeated offers. In some situations, talking about it with someone you trust in the group can help you feel more comfortable and supported.

For hosts, offering non-alcoholic drinks that are just as carefully prepared, visible, and varied as the others helps normalize this choice, rather than presenting it as an exception. What’s more, the range of non-alcoholic drinks keeps growing, making this choice more common and easier to work into social occasions.

Check out the Alternalcool section, which features non-alcoholic and low-alcohol options.

A safer outing is planned before you start drinking. It helps to plan how you will get home ahead of time—public transit, taxi, carpooling, a designated driver, or staying over—and to set yourself a clear drinking limit before the evening begins. Deciding when you will have your last drink can also help you avoid continuing to drink out of habit.

Other strategies can reduce the risks: eating before or during the outing, drinking slowly, keeping count of your standard drinks, alternating with water or non-alcoholic drinks, avoiding drinking games, and not letting your glass be refilled automatically. 

If you are driving, it is best not to drink; find out about non-alcoholic options. Never rely solely on how you feel to judge whether you are fit to drive. Alcohol can impair judgment, attention, coordination, and reflexes before a person even feels intoxicated. If you plan to drink, your safe ride home should be arranged before the first drink.

Try the Calcoholator to see how your estimated blood alcohol level changes over time; for the official rules, also see Drinking and Driving: What the Law Says, from the SAAQ.

There is no number of drinks that guarantees a person can drive safely. Alcohol can impair judgment, attention, coordination, and reaction time from the very first drinks, and its effects vary depending on the amount consumed, the pace of drinking, whether you have eaten, body composition, fatigue, medications, and other factors. In Quebec, driving with a blood alcohol level equal to or over 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood is a criminal offence, but a person can also be arrested and convicted if their ability to drive is impaired, even below that limit. The zero-alcohol rule applies in particular to people under 22 and to holders of a learner’s licence or a probationary licence. If you plan to drive, the safest choice is not to drink and to arrange your ride home before the first drink. A blood alcohol calculator provides only an estimate and can never confirm that a person is fit to drive.

No. In Quebec, the zero-alcohol rule applies to drivers under 22, as well as to holders of a learner’s licence or a probationary licence, regardless of age. If you plan to drive, the safest choice is not to drink and to arrange your ride home before the first drink. A blood alcohol calculator provides only an estimate and can never confirm that a person is fit to drive.