The amount of alcohol considered "too much" varies by sex and drinking patterns, but general guidelines exist to help define risky consumption levels:
Definitions of Too Much Alcohol
- Heavy Drinking
- For women: More than 3 drinks on any day or more than 7 drinks per week is heavy drinking.
- For men: More than 4 drinks on any day or more than 14 drinks per week is heavy drinking
- Binge Drinking
- For women: 4 or more drinks within about 2 hours (raises blood alcohol concentration to 0.08%).
- For men: 5 or more drinks within about 2 hours
- High-Intensity Drinking
- Defined as drinking twice or more the binge drinking threshold (8+ drinks for women, 10+ drinks for men in one occasion)
Health Risk Thresholds
- Regularly drinking more than 14 units (UK units) per week increases risk of serious health problems including cancers, liver disease, heart disease, stroke, brain damage, and mental health issues
- The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend women limit to 1 drink or less per day and men to 2 drinks or less per day, not as an average but as a daily maximum
- Australian guidelines advise no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than 4 drinks on any one day for healthy adults
No Safe Level
- There is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption; any amount carries some risk
- Drinking less reduces health risks, and some groups (pregnant women, people under 21) should avoid alcohol entirely
Summary
Drinking Pattern| Women| Men
---|---|---
Heavy Drinking| >3 drinks/day or >7/week| >4 drinks/day or >14/week
Binge Drinking| ≥4 drinks in ~2 hours| ≥5 drinks in ~2 hours
High-Intensity Drinking| ≥8 drinks in one occasion| ≥10 drinks in one occasion
Weekly Limit (UK)| ≤14 units/week (low risk)| ≤14 units/week (low risk)
Daily Limit (US)| ≤1 drink/day| ≤2 drinks/day
Australian Weekly Limit| ≤10 standard drinks/week| ≤10 standard drinks/week
Australian Daily Limit| ≤4 standard drinks/day| ≤4 standard drinks/day
Exceeding these limits increases risks of accidents, chronic diseases, addiction, and death. The less alcohol consumed, the lower the risk to health
. In conclusion, "too much" alcohol is drinking beyond these recommended limits, especially heavy or binge drinking, which significantly raises the risk of both immediate harm and long-term health problems.
