Health and lifestyle

Drinking above low-risk levels can affect you and your family, leading to a wide range of diseases that compromise your quality of life and may cause death. Low risk drinking for healthy males and females is:

no more than 2 standard drinks on any day to reduce lifetime risk of alcohol related harm
no more than 4 standard drinks on any one drinking occasion to reduce the risk of injury relating to that session of drinking
regular alcohol-free days.

This section has helpful information on health and alcohol issues relevant to the veteran community. Take particular care with alcohol if:

You have heart disease, high blood pressure or are gaining weight
You are on medication or other drugs
You have a physical health or social problem made worse by alcohol
You experience depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
You have trouble sleeping
You experience irritability or mood swings
Your family has a history of alcohol-related problems
You are an older person
You're going to drive or use machinery

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