Background to Drinking Advice

The HPA's alcohol drinking advice is based on the most current and best available scientific research and evidence using the primary resource material of:

• Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol (published in February 2009) (http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/your-health/alcohol-guidelines)
• Health in Canada: A Summary of Evidence and Guidelines for Low Risk Drinking (completed in November 2010 and published in November 2011) (http://www.ccsa.ca/2011%20CCSA%20Documents/2011-Summary-of-Evidence-and-Guidelines-for-Low-Risk%20Drinking-en.pdf).

Both these guidelines were developed by a committee of experts, informed by research literature reviews and studies conducted by Dr Jurgen Rehm and colleagues, peer reviewed by international experts and informed by consultation.

The 2009 Australian guidelines have the same limits for both men and women. ALAC’s drinking advice, like the Canadian guidelines, have different limits for men and women. These gender differences reflect the impact of alcohol on women, due to factors such as body size and composition, ability to metabolise alcohol, and the higher risk of developing a range of health conditions.

HPA's drinking advice about children and young people under 18 years also draws on the UK Department of Health’s guidance document:

Guidance on the Consumption of Alcohol by Children and Young People (published in December 2009) (Click here to download the document)

Previous ‘upper limits for responsible drinking’ were developed in 1994 by a group consisting of alcohol producers, health promoters and problem intervention and treatment workers that sought a consensus approach. The upper limits, which were frequently referred to as ALAC guidelines, were reviewed and replaced by revised drinking advice because:

• considerably more evidence has emerged since 1994, particularly of the effect of alcohol on the developing brain of adolescents
• HPA has a legislated responsibility to provide up-to-date scientific evidence on the risks of drinking alcohol
• a corresponding change to guidelines has been made in comparable jurisdictions such as Australia and Canada.