What science says and how to communicate it.

In January 2023, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health, aiming at replacing the 2011 Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines. Under the guiding principle that “Less is better,” this updated framework shifted the low-risk threshold from 10 drinks per week for women and 15 for men down to two drinks per week for everyone, introducing a risk continuum that highlights that no amount of alcohol is without risk.

However, these recommendations have yet to gain broad consensus, even within the scientific community. As of 2026, Health Canada has yet to update its position and maintains its 2011 guidelines. Internationally, public-health guidelines vary widely: the United States does not endorse the “no safe limit” position, France and the United Kingdom have adopted intermediate benchmarks, and the World Health Organization (WHO) maintains that no level of consumption is risk-free.

As this global debate continues, Quebecers find themselves caught between deeply rooted cultural traditions, economic interests, and conflicting public health messages, creating uncertainty about how to navigate these contradictions.

The first Quebec Summit on Alcohol and Health hosted by Educ’alcool is designed to help bridge the gap between data and action. By bringing together experts, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and citizens, the Summit creates a unique forum for open and informed dialogue. Our goal is to clarify the scientific disagreements surrounding alcohol and health and support the development of clear, nuanced, and evidence-based public communication.

Program Highlights

Schedule details to be announced.

Why Attend?

By the end of the activity, participants will be able to:

• Understand the evolution of Canadian recommendations (the 2011 Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines to the 2023 CCSA Guidance on Alcohol and Health) and the principle of a continuum of risk with no safe threshold.
• Analyze the sources of disagreement among national and international bodies in order to explain why the same body of evidence leads to divergent recommendations.
• Craft clear, nuanced, evidence-based public health messages adapted to the Quebec context and to an audience facing contradictory recommendations.