Just in time for Dry January and amid growing interest in the “sober curious” movement, researchers at the University of Victoria have unveiled a new tool to gauge the health impacts of alcohol.
The new Know Alcohol calculator was developed by researchers at UVic’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR).
The tool allows people to calculate personalized estimates of the potential health risks from their own alcohol consumption, along with the possible benefits of drinking less.
The calculator is built on the health science used to generate Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health, and asks individuals to enter their age, sex and an estimate of how much they drink in a 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, director of CISUR.
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“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.”
Using the personalized inputs, the tool returns a variety of data, including the increased risk of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and injury.
It also generates estimates such as the risk of dying early from alcohol, the average amount of lifetime lost per drink, and a health risk comparison to cigarettes.
Naimi said the researchers didn’t just rely on mathematical models to craft the tool. Researchers conducted national surveys to get input from real people as well.
“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,” he said.
UBC professor and clinical psychologist Zach Walsh said for those looking to cut back on alcohol consumption, it’s important not to start from a place of shame or negativity. That kind of mindset can lead to even more bad feelings if a person fails to meet their goals.
“I would say if people can be curious about it, look at it as an opportunity to explore a different way of living, getting away from what is familiar, and maybe it won’t be as difficult as you think,” he said.
He also suggested that people looking to cut back on alcohol set themselves up for success by planning ahead.
“It’s a lot easier to cut down your alcohol use if you don’t have a bunch of alcohol in the house, and if you are not putting yourself in situations where you get surprised be alcohol,” he added.
Along with the calculator tool, the UVic website also provides a variety of educational resources about the effects of alcohol and a knowledge quiz.
The team says the tool’s primary goal is to help boost the message that drinking less alcohol is better for a person’s health while providing trustworthy information to help people make informed decisions.
The tool was developed with funding from Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program.