Alcohol: are you drinking too much?
Low-risk drinking guidelines
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia has created a set of guidelines for males and females for low-risk drinking for both long-term harm and short-term harm.
For the general population, the guidelines for low-risk drinking for long-term harm are as follows.
| Guidelines for low-risk drinking for long-term harm | |
|---|---|
| For males | For females |
| An average of up to 4 standard drinks a day. | An average of up to 2 standard drinks a day. |
| No more than 28 standard drinks over a week. | No more than 14 standard drinks over a week. |
| One to 2 alcohol-free days per week. | One to 2 alcohol-free days per week. |
For the general population, the guidelines for low-risk drinking for short-term harm are as follows.
| Guidelines for low-risk drinking for short-term harm | |
|---|---|
| For males | For females |
| No more than 6 standard drinks on any one day, no more than 3 days a week. | No more than 4 standard drinks on any one day, no more than 3 days a week. |
These guidelines assume:
- The drinks are consumed at a moderate rate. For example, males should not consume more than two standard drinks in the first hour, and no more than one standard drink per hour thereafter and females should not consume more than one standard drink per hour.
- The person drinking alcohol is not on medication; is not pregnant; will not be driving, operating machinery or performing an activity that involves risk or requires a degree of skill; and is over 18 years of age.
- The person is of average or larger size.
For more information, please click on the Australian Drug Foundation's DrugInfo Clearinghouse web site link below.
Last Reviewed: 20 September 2006
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