A proposed overhaul of Canada’s drinking guidelines a decade ago warns of increased health risks from as little as three drinks a week and calls for mandatory labeling of all alcoholic beverages.
In its suggested update to Canada’s low-risk drinking guidelines, the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction eschews offering a specific daily or weekly limit in favor of describing a continuum of risk and urging “less is better”.
The Ottawa-based center says the risk is negligible or low for two drinks a week, moderate for three to six drinks a week and increasingly higher beyond that.
It’s a radical change from current guidelines published in 2011, which limit alcohol consumption to 10 drinks a week for women and 15 drinks a week for men.
But the CCSA says a review of more than 5,000 peer-reviewed studies shows that even very small amounts of alcohol can be harmful, as alcohol is now recognized as a risk factor for a growing number of diseases .
The CCSA says it includes at least seven types of cancer, with alcohol responsible for nearly 7,000 cancer deaths each year. He says most cases are breast or colon cancer, followed by cancers of the rectum, mouth and throat, liver, esophagus and larynx.
The report, released Monday, also dispels the notion that moderate drinking protects against heart disease, pointing to recent research that found that drinking a little alcohol neither decreases nor increases risk, and that at higher levels, alcohol is a risk factor for most types of alcohol. cardiovascular disease.
The CCSA notes that a significant proportion of alcohol-attributable deaths in Canada occurred among people following the 2011 guidelines.
The CCSA opened online public consultations this week on the report. The survey is open until September 23 for both the public and any expert with suggestions for additions or clarifications.
Dr Peter Butt, co-chair of the project, says the finalized guidance will be published on 15 November.
The report highlights that all levels of alcohol consumption are associated with some risk.
“Experts are mindful that this new Guidance on alcohol and health, which sets out a continuum of risks, will surprise and unsettle large segments of the population, including the alcohol industry, the media and policy makers,” he says the report .
“However, people living in Canada have a right to know. Alcohol is a carcinogen linked to at least seven types of cancer, including common ones like colon and breast cancer. Also, unlike common perceptions, current evidence shows that drinking a little alcohol does not reduce the risk of heart disease.”
The report also calls on Health Canada to require alcoholic beverage labels to list the number of standard drinks each contains, pointing to research that suggests Canadians have a limited understanding of what constitutes a standard drink.
Containers currently have to display their percentage of alcohol by volume, but this is not helping people comply with advice based on the number of drinks that can be had, the report says.
“Inconsistency in messaging causes confusion among consumers and creates barriers for consumers to adhere to alcohol instructions,” he says.
The report also notes that men’s alcohol consumption causes disproportionately more injuries, violence and deaths than women’s alcohol consumption.
However, women’s health risks increase more sharply than men’s above low levels of consumption.
The report goes far beyond examining the health risks of alcohol and also addresses issues of mental and social harm, such as intimate partner violence and sexual violence.
The authors note that it will likely require broader social and political changes for Canadians to heed the advice to drink less, calling for “a cultural shift.”
“So a corollary of the current project is the requirement that governments design a healthier environment that helps people make difficult decisions about alcohol a little easier.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 30, 2022.
Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press