Prescribing drugs of dependence in general practice

Part B - Benzodiazepines

Resource F. Drug and alcohol assessment tool

Last revised: 08 Feb 2024

Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test

AUDIT questionnaire: Screen for alcohol misuse

The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was developed by the World Health Organization as a questionnaire to identify persons whose alcohol consumption has become hazardous or harmful to their health.

AUDIT tool and its Guidelines for use in primary care .

The Department of Veterans Affairs has an easy-to-use AUDIT tool that can be printed to work through with your patients. 

The AUDIT-C tool is a modified version of the 10-question AUDIT instrument. Each AUDIT-C question has a choice of five answers. It is scored on a scale of 0–12.

In men, a score of 4 or more, and in women, a score of 3 or more, is considered positive, optimal for identifying hazardous drinking or active alcohol use disorders. However, when the points are all from Question 1 alone (questions 2 and 3 are zero), it can be assumed that the patient is drinking below recommended limits and it is suggested the provider review the patient’s alcohol intake over recent months to confirm accuracy.* Generally, the higher the score, the more likely it is that the patient’s drinking is affecting their safety.

* Bradley KA, Bush KR, Epler AJ, et al. Two brief alcohol-screening tests From the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT): validation in a female Veterans Affairs patient population. Arch Intern Med 2003;163(7):821–9.


Audit-C questionnaire

Patient name:                                                                          Date of visit:

1. How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?

  1. Never
  2. Monthly or less
  3. 2–4 times a month
  4. 2–3 times a week
  5. 4 or more times a week

2. How many standard drinks containing alcohol do you have on a typical day?

  1. 1 or 2
  2. 3 or 4
  3. 5 or 6
  4. 7 to 9
  5. 10 or more

3. How often do you have six or more drinks on one occasion?

  1. Never
  2. Less than monthly
  3. Monthly
  4. Weekly
  5. Daily or almost daily
a = 0 points; b = 1 point; c = 2 points; d = 3 points; e = 4 points


AUDIT-C is based on The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Reproduced, with the permission of the publisher, from
The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test: guidelines for use in primary care, AUDIT, second edition. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2000. P 17. [Accessed 22 January 2015].

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