Heavy Drinking
High results are undesirable.
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.
Population age 12 and older (based on weighted survey responses)
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)
Methodology
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
Social determinants of health: Biological, material, psychosocial and behavioural factors
Areas of Need
Not applicable
Targets/Benchmarks
Not applicable
Available Data Years
to (calendar years)
Geographic Coverage
- All provinces/territories
Reporting Level/Disaggregation
- National
- Province/Territory
- Region
Indicator Results
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.
References
Yang S, Lynch JW, Raghunathan TE, et al. . 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. . Accessed February 20, 2020.
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. . 2007.
Statistics Canada. . Accessed February 20, 2020.
Statistics Canada. . Accessed September 26, 2022.
How to cite:
Canadian Institute for Health Information. Heavy Drinking. Accessed October 22, 2024.
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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: