Do Ontarians drink in moderation? A baseline assessment against Canadian low risk drinking guidelines

We used the 1997 Ontario Drug Monitor, a population-based, random-digit dia lling survey of 2,776 adults, to obtain a baseline assessment of alcohol dr inking by Ontarians against the 1997 low-risk drinking guidelines of the Ad diction Research Foundation and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Ave rage weekly alcohol consumption and the frequency of exceeding the daily li mit, estimated using the graduated frequency scale, were determined for the population overall, and by sex and age group (18-44 and 45+ years). Most O ntarians drank alcohol in a pattern associated with a low risk of health co nsequences. About 100% of women and 25% of men drank in a style associated with some increase in acute or long-term risk. Younger men were most likely to drink in a risky pattern. Most drinkers of middle age or older, for who m cardiovascular disease is a significant health risk, consumed alcohol in a pattern associated with cardiovascular benefit.