Know Alcohol is the first website designed to provide Canadians with personalized information on health, costs, and calories related to alcohol consumption. It also shows the benefits, gains, and savings of reducing alcohol consumption.
This calculator was created using the mathematical models from Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health.
Disclaimer: Our calculator is not intended to replace advice from health professionals.
Although our calculator is based on the best available methods and research, this research is imperfect, and the numbers provided are estimates. These estimates consider only age, biological sex, and standard drinks consumed per week; the calculator doesn’t include other relevant factors (e.g., medical conditions, genetic factors) that could affect the relationship between alcohol and health. This calculator communicates health risks associated with alcohol consumption, and the reduction of those health risks that can be achieved by drinking less. For some people who consume very low amounts of alcohol, there may be no risks or even small benefits based on the modelling; in those instances, the calculator display will indicate that there is no added health risk.
To calculate your minutes of life lost per drink consumed, we use data on years of life lost due to alcohol. We convert this data into minutes per year and then divide it by the average number of drinks consumed each year over the estimated remaining lifetime. For example, a 19-year-old male who drinks 20 standard drinks per week loses about 8 minutes of life per each drink consumed. Like total life lost, life lost per drink is an average, and there is considerable variability from person to person.
To calculate your risk of dying early from alcohol, we use data from a large group of people who do and do not drink alcohol. This data shows how many males and females of different ages died from various causes and how much alcohol they consumed on average each day. We assume that people drank a consistent amount of alcohol throughout their lives. Then, we group people based on their age, biological sex, and average alcohol consumption. For example, a 25-year-old male who drinks 5 standard drinks per week has a 1% risk of dying early from alcohol. This means that out of 100 people like him, 1 person is likely to die earlier than expected due to alcohol.
To calculate your health risks from alcohol in terms of the equivalent number of cigarettes, we compare data from two large groups: one group that drinks alcohol and another group that smokes cigarettes. This data shows the overall risk of illness, disease, or early death from alcohol and cigarettes for different ages and genders. We then use mathematical models to match the risks of alcohol to the risks of cigarettes. For example, the health risks for a 32-year-old female who drinks 5 standard drinks per week are equivalent to the risks of smoking 2 cigarettes per week.
To calculate your risk of an alcohol-caused illness, disease, or injury, we use data from two groups of people: one group that drinks alcohol and another group that does not. We look at how many males and females of different ages in each group get illnesses, diseases, or injuries. People are grouped by age, biological sex, and average alcohol consumption. To make it easier to understand, we use a “relative risk” estimate to show how much more likely people in the drinking group are to experience an illness, disease, or injury compared to those who do not drink.
For example, a 45-year-old female who drinks 7 standard drinks per week has a 12.6% higher risk of breast cancer compared to a non-drinker of the same age and sex. The relative risk is determined by comparing the risk of breast cancer among drinkers (e.g., 9 out of 100 or 9%) to the risk among non-drinkers (e.g., 8 out of 100 or 8%) – in this case the difference between 8% vs. 9% is a 12.6% relative difference, but a 1% absolute difference.
To calculate your monthly, yearly, and lifetime costs from alcohol, we use an average price of $2.71 for a standard drink in British Columbia. We multiply this price by the number of standard drinks you consume each week, and then by the number of weeks in a month, a year, and your remaining lifetime. If you enter your own price per drink, we use that amount instead to calculate your costs.
To calculate your calories per day from alcohol, we use an average of 147 calories per standard drink. We multiply this number by the number of standard drinks you consume each week and then divide by 7 to estimate the number of calories you consume per day.
To calculate alcohol as a percentage of your daily recommended calories, we use 2,000 calories as the average daily calorie amount for adults in Canada. We divide your calories from alcohol each day by this number and then multiply by 100 to estimate the percentage.
To calculate your calories from alcohol in terms of the equivalent number of colas and cheeseburgers per month, we use 140 calories for a 339 mL (12 ounce) can of Coca-Cola and 590 calories for a McDonald’s Big Mac. We multiply your daily calories from alcohol by the number of weeks in a month and then divide by the calorie values for a cola and cheeseburger.
To calculate your calories from alcohol in terms of the equivalent pounds of sugar and fat per year, there are 1,755 calories in 1 pound of sugar and 3,500 calories in 1 pound of fat. We multiply your daily calories from alcohol by the number of days in a year and then divide by the calorie values for sugar and fat.
Disclaimer: Alcohol is a source of empty calories and contains no nutritional value. The calorie equivalents provided are for demonstration purposes only and should not be considered as part of your overall nutritional intake. Importantly, the equivalent calories in pounds of fat does not mean that you will lose an equivalent amount of body weight.
Paradis, C., Butt, P., Shield, K., Poole, N., Wells, S., Naimi, T., Sherk, A., & the Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines Scientific Expert Panels. (2023). Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health: Final Report. Ottawa, Ont.: Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction.
Statistics Canada (2018). Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, 2017. Statistics Canada; Ottawa, Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/181030/dq181030b-eng.pdf?st=fkbrGv0f
Jaswal, H., Sohi, I., Rehm, J., Churchill, S., Sherk, A., Stockwell, T., ... & Shield, K. D. (2024). A drink equals how many cigarettes? Equating mortality risks from alcohol and tobacco use in Canada. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1331190.
Sherk, A., Naimi, T. S., Stockwell, T., & Hobin, E. (2019). Calorie intake from alcohol in Canada: Why new labelling requirements are necessary. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, 80(3), 111-115.
Stockwell, T., Churchill, S., Sherk, A., Sorge, J., & Gruenewald, P. (2020). How many alcohol-attributable deaths and hospital admissions could be prevented by alternative pricing and taxation policies? Modelling impacts on alcohol consumption, revenues and related harms in Canada. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada, 40 (5/6).
McDonald’s Big Mac calories: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/big-mac.htmlC
Coca Cola calories: https://www.coca-cola.com/ph/en/about-us/faq/how-many-calories-are-there-in-a-330ml-can-of-cocacola-classic
Calories in a pound (lbs.) of sugar and fat: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/calories-in-a-pound-of-fat