Risk screening
About 28% of US adults drink at levels above the low-risk guidelines, and most don’t realise it — “low risk” is lower than the cultural baseline. This is the WHO AUDIT-C, three questions about how much and how often you drink, used by the NHS, NIAAA, and primary care worldwide. It runs on your device.
A standard drink
AUDIT-C uses the international standard drink— 14g of pure alcohol. That’s about:
UK readers: UK units differ — 1 UK unit ≈ 8g of alcohol, so 1.75 UK units ≈ 1 standard drink. A pint of 5% beer (568ml) is about 2.3 standard drinks; a 175ml glass of 12% wine is about 1.4 standard drinks.
Who this is for
This tool is for adults who drink or are considering drinking. If you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, under the local legal drinking age, taking medicines that interact with alcohol, or have been advised not to drink for a medical condition, a “low score” from this tool does NOT mean alcohol is low-risk for you. The safest amount in those contexts is none.
If you drink heavily every day
If you drink heavily every day and are considering stopping, don’t stop abruptly without medical advice. Alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous and is occasionally life-threatening. Talk to a clinician about a safe approach to cutting down or stopping.
What this is
The WHO AUDIT-C— the three consumption items from the 10-item AUDIT, validated by Bush et al. (Arch Intern Med 1998) and recommended by the WHO and NIAAA. Question 3 uses the original WHO threshold of six or more drinks on one occasion for everyone (the US/VA adaptation uses different thresholds — we’ve named the variant so there’s no ambiguity).
What this is not
A diagnosis. AUDIT-C measures consumption, not alcohol use disorder (AUD). AUD requires a clinical assessment using DSM-5 symptom criteria. A positive AUDIT-C score warrants a fuller conversation — often the full 10-item AUDIT — with a clinician, not a label.
What helps
Brief interventions work: tracking drinks honestly, alcohol-free days, swapping in lower-strength options, and addressing the triggers (stress, sleep loss, social patterns). See your full planfor personalised lifestyle context if you’ve done the intake.
Privacy
Your answers are stored only in this browser, scoped to the active profile. Nothing is uploaded. See transparency for the network-level audit.
Sources. Bush K et al., Arch Intern Med 1998;158:1789 (AUDIT-C original) · NIAAA Core Resource on Alcohol (Screen & Assess) · WHO AUDIT manual · USPSTF unhealthy alcohol use screening · NIAAA "Rethinking Drinking".