Heavy Drinking

Heavy drinking is defined as men who reported consuming 5 or more drinks or women who reported consuming 4 or more drinks on 1 occasion at least once a month in the past year. It is calculated for the population age 12 and older.

High results are undesirable.

Data updated:
Data availability: to (calendar years)
Geographic coverage
All provinces/territories
Reporting level
National, Province/Territory, Region
Calculation

Percentage of the population age 12 and older who reported drinking 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women on at least 1 occasion per month in the past year

Population estimates are based on weighted survey responses to reflect the total population.

Denominator

Population age 12 and older (based on weighted survey responses)

Numerator

Population age 12 and older who reported having 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women on 1 occasion at least once a month in the past year (based on weighted survey responses)

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Name

Heavy Drinking

Short/Other Names

Not applicable

Description

Heavy drinking is defined as men who reported consuming 5 or more drinks or women who reported consuming 4 or more drinks on 1 occasion at least once a month in the past year. It is calculated for the population age 12 and older.

Rationale

Heavy drinking has been associated with harmful health and social consequences, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, all-cause mortality, unintentional injuries, unprotected sex, drunk driving and illicit drug use.

The economic impact of alcohol-related harm in Canada is estimated to be $14.6 billion per year. With the goal to reduce alcohol-related harm in Canada, a National Alcohol Strategy was put together that proposes renewed efforts in health promotion, prevention, treatment and enforcement in Canada.

Interpretation

High results are undesirable.

HSP Framework Dimension

Biological, material, psychosocial and behavioural factors

Areas of Need

Not applicable

Targets/Benchmarks

Not applicable

Available Data Years

to

Geographic Coverage

  • All provinces/territories

Reporting Level/Disaggregation

  • National
  • Province/Territory
  • Region

Indicator Results

Web Tool:
Your Health System: In Depth
PDF:
Accessing Indicator Results on Your Health System: In Depth (PDF)

Update Frequency

Every year

Latest Results Update Date

Updates

Not applicable

Description

Percentage of the population age 12 and older who reported drinking 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women on at least 1 occasion per month in the past year

Population estimates are based on weighted survey responses to reflect the total population.

Type of Measurement

Percentage or proportion

Denominator

Description:

Population age 12 and older (based on weighted survey responses)

Exclusions:

Non-response categories (refusal, don't know and not stated) are excluded.

Numerator

Description:

Population age 12 and older who reported having 5 or more drinks for men or 4 or more drinks for women on 1 occasion at least once a month in the past year (based on weighted survey responses)

Method of Adjustment

Not applicable

Adjustment Applied

None

Geographic Assignment

Place of residence

Data Sources

  • CCHS, Statistics Canada
  • Statistics Canada, Table 13-10-0113-01: Health characteristics, two-year period estimates (by age group and sex, Canada, provinces, territories and health regions).

Caveats and Limitations

This indicator is calculated based on 2 years of pooled data.

Data for the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) is collected yearly from a sample of approximately 65,000 respondents. Table 13-10-0113-01 presents estimates from 2-year combined data and features estimates for all provinces and territories as well as for health regions. The 2-year combined data has higher precision (less variability) than annual estimates; annual CCHS estimates are not available at the health region level.

Some values have data quality flags that indicate "use with caution" or "suppressed" due to high coefficients of variation: health regions with small populations and results disaggregated by age group or sex within small regions.

The CCHS covers the population age 12 and older living in the 10 provinces and 3 territories. Excluded from the survey's coverage are the following:

  • Persons living on reserves and in other Indigenous settlements in the provinces
  • Full-time members of the Canadian Forces
  • The population of institutionalized persons
  • Persons living in 2 Quebec health regions: Nunavik Region and Terres-Cries-de-la-Baie-James Region

Altogether, these exclusions represent less than 3% of the Canadian population age 12 and older.

Trending Issues

As a result of a redesign in 2015, the CCHS has a new collection strategy and sample design. For this reason, Statistics Canada does not recommend making comparisons with CCHS data from 2001 to 2014.

In addition to the 2015 CCHS redesign, a definition change was implemented in 2013 to conform to World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada guidelines for heavy drinking. The number of drinks for women changed from 5 to 4.

In the CCHS, a "drink" refers to 1 of the following:

  • A bottle or small can of beer, cider or cooler with 5% alcohol content, or a small draft
  • A glass of wine with 12% alcohol content
  • A glass or cocktail containing 1.5 oz. of a spirit with 40% alcohol content

The COVID-19 pandemic had major impacts on the data collection operations for the 2020 CCHS. Users are advised to use the 2020 CCHS data with caution, especially when creating estimates for small sub-populations or when comparing with other CCHS years.

Comments

Data for Ontario's local health integration networks and British Columbia's regional health authorities was received from Statistics Canada through custom tabulation requests:

  • Source: Statistics Canada. Selected CCHS Indicators for Ontario by Local Health Integration Network and British Columbia Regional Health Authority, 2017–2018. January 2020. Reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.

References

Yang S, Lynch JW, Raghunathan TE, et al. Socioeconomic and psychosocial exposures across the life course and binge drinking in adulthood: Population-based study. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2007.

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Alcohol Harm in Canada: Examining Hospitalizations Entirely Caused by Alcohol and Strategies to Reduce Alcohol Harm (PDF). 2017.

Centers for Disease Control. Fact sheets — Binge drinking. Accessed February 20, 2020.

Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. National Alcohol Strategy: Reducing Alcohol-Related Harm in Canada (PDF). 2007.

Statistics Canada. Canadian Community Health Survey — Annual component (CCHS). Accessed February 20, 2020.

Statistics Canada. Health characteristics, two-year period estimates. Accessed September 26, 2022.

How to cite:

Canadian Institute for Health Information. Heavy Drinking. Accessed May 1, 2024.

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