National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Now, I want to talk about something I've discussed many times on this podcast, and that's the low-risk drinking guidelines.

Historically, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the NIAAA, identified low-risk drinking limits of no more than three standard drinks in a day and seven standard drinks in a week for women, as well as four in a day and no more than 14 in a a useful way to establish some boundaries around drinking.

But I want to clarify something important about what those particular limits actually mean.

The research historically associated with those guidelines focused heavily on the risk of developing alcohol use disorder.

In fact, the NIAAA reported that among people who stayed within both the daily and the weekly low-risk limits, approximately 2% met the criteria for alcohol use disorder.

That's useful information, but it isn't the same thing as saying that drinking within those limits carries little or no risk for every alcohol-related condition.

If you're drinking seven standard drinks every week, you may be within those historical risk guidelines, but that doesn't mean you have the same cancer risk as someone who doesn't drink at all.

You heard that right.

Research from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shows that people who start drinking before the age of 15 are several times more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder later in life than those who wait until 21.

Here's what you can do.

Many teens who drink say they get alcohol from family or friends, often from home.