As people look to reduce their drinking in 2025 and take part in ‘Dry January,’ researchers from UVic have launched a website that estimates the harmful health impacts of drinking alcohol.
The website, KnowAlcohol.ca, was developed by UVic’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR).
Featured tools on this website show the benefits of drinking less and can even tell users the number of minutes of life they could regain from skipping a last drink and how weekly alcohol intake compares to other unhealthy habits such as smoking cigarettes.
It also shares individualized risks of alcohol-related diseases, including several types of cancers, tailored to individual users based on their age, sex, and the amount they drink per week.
“When Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health was released two years ago, it started the first national conversation on alcohol consumption,” said Dr. Tim Naimi, CISUR Director.
“We wanted to take it a step further and make a tool that showed people personalized results so they could make evidence-informed decisions about their drinking habits.”
In addition to the calculator, the website also has a wealth of information about alcohol’s impacts, a quiz to test people’s knowledge and a standard drink calculator.
“The website isn’t just based on complicated mathematical models and risk estimates. We talked to people all over the country when designing Know Alcohol and got input every step of the way,” said Naimi.
“One thing we heard clearly was we needed to not just show people their potential harms, but also what you could gain by cutting down, even if it was just by one drink per week.”
The ultimate goal of the website is to amplify the main message that drinking less is better and to be a hub where people can go to get reliable facts about alcohol’s health impacts.
Naimi says that the little information provided to alcohol consumers is what prompted the creation of the project.
“A can of peas has more information on it than a can of beer,” he said.
“We wanted to provide credible information about alcohol with this site and calculator. People have the right to know.”
This project was funded by Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program.
