Calgarians react to new guidelines for alcohol intake

Although cold beers and cocktails can be refreshing during a hot stretch of weather like Calgary is experiencing, a new report has recommended guidelines placing a cap on how much booze Canadians should consume in a week.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) conducted two years of research and determined there is low health risk for Canadians to consume up to two drinks per week.

Having three to six drinks per week increased the risk to moderate, while having more than six was found to contribute to increased risks of cancer, stroke, heart disease and situations of violence.

"Alcohol is the leading preventable cause of death and disability injuries, accidents and social harm. So this is something that is under people's control," said Dr. Peter Butt, co-chair for Canada's Low Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines as released by the CCSA.

Some Calgarians say sticking to a specific number of drinks may be trickier than moderating drinking for various factors.

"You can easily have three to six drinks on a Friday night without too much thought, especially in the summer," Sean Felix said.

"You got tofind the moderation within yourself. Its a personal thing and six drinks won't affect everybody the same," Shawn Nadbrzezny said.

The manager at St. James Corner says staff are trained to reduce the dangers of intoxication, and doesn't recommend patrons to slam back a week's worth of drinks in one visit.

"As a bar, we have our own guidelines for safety, but the health is our guests' responsibility," Jeff Beddoes said.

The 2011 version of these recommendations allowed for more drinks at 15 per week for men and 10 for women, however researchers say emerging data demonstrated harmful health risks with higher consumption.

"You can decrease your risk by simply cutting back. You don't have to quit drinking — if you simply cut back, less is better," Butt said.