Understanding how much alcohol you’re drinking or planning to drink helps reduce your risk of harm.

In Canada, a standard drink is defined as 17.05 millilitres (mL) or 13.45 grams of pure ethanol, the psychoactive ingredient in alcohol.

Alcohol by volume percentage (% ABV) measures the strength of alcoholic drinks based on the pure ethanol contained within them. For example, 5% ABV means 5% of the drink is pure ethanol.