What Is Alcohol Literacy? The Foundation for Understanding Alcohol, Health & Informed Choices

Understanding alcohol through the lenses of science, health, culture, behaviour and informed choice.

Alcohol is one of the most normalized substances in the world yet it's also one of the least understood.

It's present everywhere - at birthdays and weddings, networking events and neighbourhood barbecues, girls' nights and family dinners. It's marketed as a way to celebrate, relax, connect, cope, reward ourselves, and even survive the challenges of modern life. For many of us, drinking isn't something we consciously chose - it was simply something we grew up around and in many subtle ways, participation in alcohol culture was expected or assumed.

And yet, despite alcohol's place in our culture, very few of us have ever been taught what alcohol actually is, how it affects our brains and bodies, why it changes the way we think and feel, how it influences our sleep, hormones, relationships and mental health, or why our experiences with alcohol may differ dramatically from someone else's.

Instead, we're expected to make informed decisions about alcohol every day while navigating a confusing mix of marketing messages, cultural norms, outdated education, conflicting headlines, and advice from friends, family, social media and the occasional healthcare provider.

If you find yourself wondering why you don’t know more about alcohol, please know the lack of knowledge isn’t a personal failure. 

It's an information gap and it was set up intentionally to keep us in the dark.

And that's why alcohol literacy matters.

Before We Go Any Further, I Have a Few Questions for You

Can you explain, in detail, what a standard drink is?

Are you aware of the approximate number of alcohol-related deaths that happen globally each year?

If you were asked to explain what happens - beyond intoxication - physiologically when humans consume alcohol, where would you begin? 

If you’re struggling to answer these questions, please know you’re not alone and what you’re about to read demonstrates why.

I included answers to these questions at the end of this blog.

What is Alcohol Literacy?

Alcohol literacy is more than simply knowing that alcohol can be harmful.

It is the ability to understand alcohol through multiple lenses  including biology, health, psychology, behaviour, culture, marketing, gender, and society and to use that understanding to make informed decisions.

It requires the knowledge, context and critical thinking skills needed to understand alcohol beyond intoxication or drinking behaviours alone.

That means understanding not only what alcohol does inside the body, but also how it shapes our thoughts, emotions, behaviours, relationships and culture. It means recognizing that our relationship with alcohol is influenced by far more than willpower or personal responsibility. Biology, psychology, social norms, gender, marketing, stress, trauma, workplace culture and public policy all play a role in how, why and when we drink.

We Know More About Alcohol Than Ever Before: Why Most People Haven't Heard It

Despite sitting on mountains of research and evidence related to alcohol’s inherent risks and harms for years (and the mountain keeps growing), the vast majority of people simply do not know, understand or know how to access this information.

For example, alcohol has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) since 1988 yet the conversation about the causal relationship between alcohol and at least 7 different types of cancer has only recently entered mainstream conversation. What’s more, alcohol is one of the leading risk factors for breast cancer (outside of genetic and hereditary factors) yet global awareness levels of this relationship are staggeringly low, around 30%. 

Researchers have spent decades studying alcohol's effects on the brain, the liver, the cardiovascular system, sleep, hormones, fertility, cancer risk, mental health, ageing, behaviour and addiction. Public health researchers have examined how alcohol influences communities, healthcare systems, violence, injuries and chronic disease. Psychologists have explored the relationship between alcohol, stress, coping, trauma and habit formation. Sociologists have studied drinking culture and social norms, while marketing researchers have documented the powerful ways advertising shapes our expectations and beliefs.

The knowledge exists. The problem isn't that we don't know enough about alcohol - it's that we're living in an information imbalance.

On one side, researchers have spent decades studying alcohol's effects on the brain, body, behaviour and society. That knowledge fills academic journals, clinical guidelines and public health reports, but much of it never reaches the people making decisions about alcohol every day. Translating that research into information that is understandable, accessible and actionable for everyday humans is the first challenge.

On the other side is a global alcohol industry that spends billions of dollars each year creating sophisticated marketing campaigns designed to shape how we think about alcohol and encourage us to buy and consume it. For most people, the overwhelming majority of alcohol-related messages they encounter don't come from researchers, healthcare providers or public health organizations - they come from an industry with a financial interest in increasing sales.

In addition to shaping how we understand alcohol through advertising, the alcohol industry also invests heavily in both research efforts (that is often highly conflicted) and lobbying in an attempt to control the public’s perception of alcohol and the information we receive. Over a hundred year period (1918 to 2019), 82% of funded research was paid for by the alcohol industry or alcohol industry adjacent organizations. Alcohol industry lobbyists are actively and aggressively working behind the scenes to shape and influence public messaging about alcohol.

Finally, the alcohol industry - under the guise of corporate social responsibility - funds “non-profit” or “charitable” organizations that, on the surface, purport to reduce alcohol-related harms. In most cases though, these organizations create confusion by focusing on “drinking responsibly” messaging (without defining what that is or means) and watering down the truth about the inherent risks and harms of alcohol consumption.  

The result is a severely imbalanced information environment where evidence-informed knowledge struggles to compete with decades of pervasive marketing, cultural messaging, behind the scenes lobbying and misinformation. We know more about alcohol than ever before, but much of what reaches the public tells us why we should drink rather than helping us understand what we're drinking and how it’s impacting us.

Alcohol literacy is one way of helping restore that balance.

The concept of alcohol health literacy has existed in academic literature for years. Researchers have explored a wide variety of health related concerns when it comes to alcohol impacts the body, health and long term consequences, recognizing that health literacy plays an important role in alcohol-related decision-making. Yet outside universities and public health circles, the term is rarely used, and many people have never encountered it.

I believe that's part of the problem.

Alcohol literacy shouldn't be reserved for researchers, physicians or policy experts.

It should belong to everyone. Everyone has the right to know all the information about alcohol so they can make the best decisions for themselves.

Why Alcohol Literacy is a Health Equity Issue

Not everyone has equal access to accurate health information.

Some people have trusted healthcare providers who discuss alcohol openly.

Others never have that conversation.

Some people have the education, time and resources to search through scientific studies and interpret new research.

Others rely on social media, headlines or messages created by the alcohol industry itself.

If we believe people should be able to make informed decisions about alcohol, then we also have to believe that everyone deserves access to understandable, evidence-informed information.

You shouldn't need an advanced degree in neuroscience, medicine or public health to understand how alcohol works in your body.

Knowledge - particularly about a common, normalized substance that exists in our day to day lives - shouldn't be a privilege.

It should be accessible.

Alcohol Literacy is Also About Informed Consent

In conversations about alcohol, one question I regularly return to is this:

Can we truly say someone is making an informed decision about alcohol if they haven't been given accessible, understandable information about what alcohol is and how it may affect them?

Alcohol is not a neutral, harmless, benign substance. Both the World Health Organization and the World Heart Federation have clearly stated that there is no safe amount of alcohol for human consumption. Alcohol, as a substance, carries inherent risks and harms to everyone who consumes it. And when we are not aware of these risks and harms, it becomes impossible to consent to engaging with them. We are expected to make these decisions without having all the information.

Alcohol literacy is about arming everyday humans with all the information they need to make the best choices possible for their bodies and their lives.

Alcohol literacy doesn't remove anyone's freedom to choose; it strengthens that freedom.

The more we understand, the more our choices become our own rather than the product of assumptions, myths, marketing or cultural expectations.

Alcohol Literacy Is Bigger Than Health: Understanding the Social, Cultural and Commercial Forces Around Alcohol

While health is an essential part of alcohol literacy, it isn't the whole picture.

If we focus only on the physical effects of alcohol, we miss the broader forces that shape our relationship with it.

Alcohol literacy includes not only understanding what alcohol does biologically inside the body, but it also means understanding why alcohol is so deeply woven into our culture, why drinking is often associated with celebration and belonging, how stress and emotions influence our choices, why women can experience alcohol differently than men, how advertising shapes our expectations, and why workplace drinking culture deserves far more attention than it currently receives. Alcohol literacy also means understanding the broader impacts of alcohol use on things like gender-based violence and how alcohol-related financial deficits are something that we all pay for.

In other words, alcohol literacy isn't simply about learning facts.

It's about learning to see alcohol from multiple perspectives simultaneously and making decisions based on how a multitude of factors intersect rather than exclusively looking at one small piece of it.

Why This Conversation Matters Now

For years, I believed my work was primarily about helping women change their relationship with alcohol.

What I've come to realize is that the work has always been bigger than that. The work I do in my coaching practice doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens within a much larger context and environment, making it impossible to do without also having conversations about alcohol literacy.

Whether I'm writing about sleep, anxiety, grey area drinking, perimenopause, workplace wellbeing, alcohol marketing or behaviour change, I'm doing the same thing every time: translating research into practical, understandable knowledge that people can actually use in their own lives. And all this work falls under the umbrella of alcohol literacy.

Because knowledge alone doesn't change behaviour.

Understanding does.

And understanding creates the conditions for informed, empowered choices.

Looking for support that's personalized to you?

Learning about alcohol is one thing.

Changing your relationship with it is another.

If you're questioning your drinking, navigating grey area drinking, or exploring sobriety and know you would benefit from support, accountability, tools, education and care, we should chat. I not only teach alcohol literacy but I do so through applicable, actionable, evidence-based tools and behaviour change approaches that stick and create lasting change. My approach to private coaching is customized and tailored to your goals, your life and your unique circumstances.

Learn more about private coaching here

Where to Go From Here

Alcohol literacy isn't something we learn in a single article.

It's something we build over time.

In the coming months, I'll be exploring alcohol literacy through many different lenses, including sleep, stress, women's health, workplace culture, behaviour change, alcohol marketing, mental health, public policy and more.

Because understanding alcohol requires more than one perspective.

It requires connecting the dots.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is alcohol literacy only for people who want to stop drinking?

No! Alcohol literacy is relevant to all of us, whether you drink regularly, occasionally, rarely or not at all. It's about understanding alcohol well enough to make informed decisions, whatever those decisions may be. It’s also about sharing what you know with others in your life so they can also benefit and make more informed choices in their lives.

Is alcohol literacy the same as alcohol education?

Traditional alcohol education conversations often happen in the context of addiction, substance use issues, recovery and/or sobriety or preventing harm caused by excessive or risky drinking. As such, for anyone who doesn’t self-identify as within any of those categories typically opts-out of those conversations because they aren’t geared towards them. This results in everyday humans not receiving important information about alcohol. Alcohol literacy is broader. It considers the biological, psychological, cultural, commercial and social influences that shape our relationship with alcohol and helps people think critically about all of them together. Alcohol literacy advocates for everyday humans have to access this information so that everyone can make the best decisions in their lives.

Why is alcohol literacy important?

Alcohol is one of the most widely used and normalized psychoactive substances in the world, yet many people receive little meaningful education about how it affects the body, brain, behaviour or society. Alcohol literacy helps close that gap by translating evidence into practical understanding. As long as alcohol continues to be woven into the fabric of our society, alcohol literacy is needed as a basic and essential life skill.

Why does alcohol literacy matter for women?

Due to biological differences, hormonal changes and gender-specific social pressures, women’s experiences with alcohol differs from men’s, including how alcohol is metabolized, the short and long term effects of alcohol and more. Building alcohol literacy helps women make informed decisions based on evidence rather than assumptions or outdated advice.

Where should I start if I want to learn more?

A great place to begin is by exploring how alcohol affects different areas of life. On this website, you'll find articles about alcohol and mental health, perimenopause, burnout, anxiety, normative alcohol culture and more. Each essay explores one piece of the larger alcohol literacy conversation. Another way to continue to increase your alcohol literacy is to subscribe to my newsletter.

The Bottom Line

Alcohol has become one of the most normalized substances in our culture.

Understanding it has not.

We have spent generations teaching people how to drink without teaching them much about what alcohol actually is, how it works, why it affects us differently, or how the world around us shapes our relationship with it.

Alcohol literacy is about closing that gap.

Not by telling people what to do, but by giving them access to the knowledge, context and critical thinking skills they need to make informed choices that align with their own health, values and lives.

Because when it comes to alcohol, everyone has the right to know.

Answers to questions asked at beginning of blog:

Q: Can you explain, in detail, what a standard drink is? A: A standard alcoholic drink is any beverage that contains the exact same specific amount of pure alcohol. Because alcohol by volume (ABV) varies depending on the type of alcohol being consumed (spirits, wine, beer, etc.), the portion or size of drink will change.

In Canada, a standard drink, based on ABV and type of alcohol is as follows:

• Beer / Cider / Cooler: 12 ounces (341 ml) at 5% alcohol

• Wine: 5 ounces (142 ml) at 12% alcohol

• Spirits / Hard Liquor: 1.5 ounces (43 ml) at 40% alcohol (e.g., vodka, rum, whisky) [source]

It's important to note that a standard drink can vary depending on where you live in the world so check your country's guidelines and definitions.

Q: Are you aware of the approximate number of alcohol-related deaths that happen globally each year?

A: World Health Organization data from 2019 states that approximately 2.6 million deaths occur annually related to alcohol [source].

Q: If you were asked to explain what happens - beyond intoxication - physiologically when humans consume alcohol, where would you begin?  A: What Alcohol Does to Your Body [source]

• Fast Travel: Alcohol goes straight through your stomach lining into your blood, reaching your brain in minutes

• Toxic Breakdown: Your liver works hard to process and get rid of it. It turns alcohol into acetaldehyde, a highly toxic and inflammatory chemical

• Dehydration: Alcohol blocks the hormone that tells your kidneys to save water. Your body flushes out liquids, causing rapid dehydration

• Gut Irritation: The chemical irritates your stomach lining, kills good gut bacteria, and triggers full-body inflammation

What Alcohol Does to Your Brain [source]

• Slowing Messages: Alcohol boosts your brain's "brakes" and turns down its "gas pedal," making your thoughts and reactions sluggish

• Bad Judgement: It targets your prefrontal cortex, the area in charge of decision-making, logic, and self-control

• Memory Blanks: High doses disrupt your brain's memory centre. It stops saving new information/making memories, which explains why people black out