Canada’s Alcohol and Health Guidance is built around a clear and practical message: drinking less is better. In this new video, Bryce Barker of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction explains how the guidance was developed with input from 22 experts across 17 organizations and how it is meant to help people better understand alcohol-related risk and make informed choices about their drinking. The guidance itself was released in January 2023.

What makes the message strong is that it does not stay at the level of slogans. The video walks through concrete advice that people can actually use, such as tracking drinks, setting personal limits, drinking more slowly, choosing low or no-alcohol options, eating before and while drinking, and building in alcohol-free days or activities. It also explains the weekly risk levels in a simple way, from no risk at zero drinks per week, to low risk at one to two standard drinks, moderate risk at three to six, and increasingly high risk at seven or more.

The guidance also stresses that risk is not only about weekly totals. Drinking more than two standard drinks on one occasion increases short-term risks such as injury and violence, and there are situations where zero is the safest choice, including driving, pregnancy, using machinery, taking certain medicines, or caring for others. The video also highlights that alcohol affects different groups differently, noting increased health risks for females at higher weekly levels, while also underlining that men’s drinking is linked to a large share of injuries, violence, and deaths.

Importantly, this is not just a report sitting on a shelf gathering bureaucratic dust. The video shows how CCSA and its partners have continued turning the guidance into usable public health tools, including outreach resources, partner materials, and digital tools that help people reflect on how alcohol affects their health, finances, and everyday life. It is a good example of how alcohol guidance can be translated into communication that is practical, understandable, and ready to use in real communities.

Find more from Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (Canada, March 2026) and also Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol & Health