Understanding Low-Risk Alcohol Use
An advisory report issued in January 2025 by the United States Surgeon General calls attention to alcohol consumption as an urgent public health issue, specifically as it relates to cancer risk. There are other known risks to consuming alcohol, and people should be educated on how to minimize these risks. The report emphasizes that research studies show there is NO SAFE AMOUNT – that all alcohol use increases risk, and the risks increase proportionally to the amount.
According to “Alcohol and Cancer Risk: 2025 - The U.S Surgeon General’s Advisory”:
Alcohol Drinking Patterns
Alcohol consumption patterns can be described by behaviors.
Binge drinking rates in Miami, Darke and Shelby Counties
What is a standard drink?
What is low-risk drinking?
Minimize Risk, Maximize Life Training:
Are you ready to change?
Are you ready to change your drinking behavior? Whether you are choosing to cut down or quit altogether, make a plan. Consider these suggestions:
5 Tips to Lower your Risk
According to “Alcohol and Cancer Risk: 2025 - The U.S Surgeon General’s Advisory”:
- Alcohol use is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States.
- Alcohol use contributes about 100,000 cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths each year.
- Consuming alcohol increases the risk of developing at least seven types of cancer: mouth, esophagus, breast (in women), liver, throat, voice box(larynx), colon/rectum.
- The amount of alcohol a person consumes directly impacts their cancer risk. A key factor is the consistent consumption of alcohol over time. The higher the amount of alcohol consumed, the greater the risk of developing cancer, with increased levels of consumption correlating to a higher risk.
- https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/oash-alcohol-cancer-risk.pdf
Alcohol Drinking Patterns
Alcohol consumption patterns can be described by behaviors.
- Occasional Drinking: No more than 1 drink per day for women or 2 for men, and irregularly, for special occasions or casual consumption. Note that Occasional Drinking does NOT mean “no risk.”
- Binge Drinking: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines binge drinking as a drinking pattern that results in a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher. This typically means consuming 5 or more drinks for males and 4 or more drinks for females within approximately 2 hours.
- High-Intensity Drinking: The consumption of 2 or more times the gender-specific thresholds for binge drinking.
- 10 or more drinks for males in 2 hours
- 8 or more drinks for females in 2 hours
- Heavy Drinking
- Males: consuming 5 or more drinks on any day or 15 or more per week
- Females: consuming 4 or more on any day or 8 or more drinks per week
- Alcohol Use Disorder: A medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse, social, occupational, or health consequences.
- https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-drinking-patterns
Binge drinking rates in Miami, Darke and Shelby Counties
- Percentage of adults ages 18 and older who meet the criteria for binge drinking
- Average of all three counties: 18.4%
- Ohio Medicaid Assessment Survey 2023: https://grc.osu.edu/OMAS/2023Survey
What is a standard drink?
- One standard drink in the U.S contains 14 grams (0.6 fl. oz) of pure alcohol
- 5 fl. oz wine (12% ABV)
- 12 fl. oz beer (5% ABV)
- 1.5 fl. oz liquor (40% ABV)
What is low-risk drinking?
- Zero drinks for those:
- Under the age of 21
- On medication or have a medical condition
- Operating machinery
- In recovery from substance use disorder
- Pregnant or trying to become pregnant
- Females:
- No more than 1 drink daily
- No more than 7 drinks weekly
- Males
- No more than 2 drinks daily
- No more than 14 weeks weekly
- https://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/how-much-too-much/what-are-us-guidelines-drinking
Minimize Risk, Maximize Life Training:
- Minimize Risk, Maximize Life (MRML) is a free class for learning how low-risk drinking supports your wellbeing.
- MRML is preventative, providing research that explains biology and risk to help adults adopt healthy guidelines that low the risk of alcohol-related problems.
- MRML is not an abstinence-based approach, but does encourage individuals to assess their own use with adult beverages and make changes if needed.
- MRML is an evidenced based approach to reduce risk of alcohol related health issues and improve overall wellbeing.
- MRML is designed for all ages of adults.
- MRML was created by Lori Higgins and Kristina Latta-Landefel employed by Envision Partnerships, located in Hamilton, Ohio.
- Website: https://www.lowriskdrinking.org/
Are you ready to change?
Are you ready to change your drinking behavior? Whether you are choosing to cut down or quit altogether, make a plan. Consider these suggestions:
- Keep track of how often and how much you are drinking.
- Notice how drinking affects you.
- Make a list of pros and cons about changing.
- Deal with other priorities that may be in your way.
- Ask for support from a doctor, friends, family members.
- https://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/thinking-about-change/ready-or-not
5 Tips to Lower your Risk
- Keep track of your standard drinks in whatever way you can, such as keeping your bottle caps in your pocket.
- Alternate alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic drinks, especially water, to stay hydrated and slow down your alcohol intake.
- Avoid triggers – people or places that may increase your likelihood to overconsume.
- Know your “no” – when and where you draw the line.
- Order lower alcohol content (ABV) drinks.
- Take a free, confidential online screening to receive personalized feedback and supports, at https://alcoholscreening.org/#/home
