We used the 1997 Ontario Drug Monitor, a population-based, random-digit dialing survey of 2,776 adults, to obtain a baseline assessment of alcohol drinking by Ontarians against the 1997 low-risk drinking guidelines of the Addiction Research Foundation and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. Average weekly alcohol consumption and the frequency of exceeding the daily limit, estimated using the graduated frequency scale, were determined for the population overall, and by sex and age group (18-44 and 45+ years). Most Ontarians drank alcohol in a pattern associated with a low risk of health consequences. About 10% of women and 25% of men drank in a style associated with some increase in acute or long-term risk. Younger men were most likely to drink in a risky pattern. Most drinkers of middle age or older, for whom cardiovascular disease is a significant health risk, consumed alcohol in a pattern associated with cardiovascular benefit.