What Are The New Guidelines For Alcohol in Canada?
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Regulating anything — let alone alcohol — is a tricky task. As Aldous Huxley writes in The Doors of Perception / Heaven and Hell, “The problems raised by alcohol and tobacco cannot, it goes without saying, be solved by prohibition. The universal and ever-present urge to self-transcendence is not to be abolished by slamming the currently popular Doors in the Wall. The only reasonable policy is to open other, better doors in the hope of inducing men and women to exchange their old bad habits for new and less harmful ones.”
While Huxley is actually talking about hallucinogens in this quote, the same goes for alcohol as well: as we learned the hard way from the Prohibition Era, you can’t tell people not to drink, especially if you’re the government.
Instead, modern governments frame their advice as guidelines for safe alcohol use and present them as health initiatives backed by scientific evidence. We are free to choose what we do with that information, and nobody over a certain age (19 in Canada, 21 in the United States) is likely to be prohibited from drinking in North America (as long as they’re not behind the wheel, performing surgery, working on a construction site, or doing anything else where their impairment would pose a risk to others).
However, when it comes to Canada’s new guidelines for safe alcohol consumption, some folks have been left a bit shaken. The guidelines, passed in 2023 after extensive review by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), urge Canadians to set a 2- drink weekly limit to avoid potential health risks. Canadian experts argue that the latest evidence proves no amount of alcohol is truly safe.
What are alcohol guidelines in the first place, and what are they based on? Every country is different, but usually guidelines are set by governments according to scientific research and influenced by the cultural traditions of the population.
The World Health Organization reports that Europeans drink the most alcohol of all regions and advises that no amount of alcohol is safe. In light of that position, let’s look at a brief overview of drinking guidelines in Europe according to the 2023 European Commission report:
How do these recommendations compare to those in North America?
The current report is the final result of the guideline review initiative launched in 2020 by the CCSA. The guidelines were developed in 2011, but since then “the evidence on the impact of alcohol on health and its contribution to social harms has advanced considerably.” The update, in turn, addresses these new findings.
The main message of the report is loud and clear: “We now know that even a small amount of alcohol can be damaging to health.”
According to CTV News, “While acknowledging that 40 percent of people living in Canada aged 15 and older consume more than six standard drinks per week, the report warns that no amount of alcohol is safe to consume.” Instead, it “recommends a new cap on weekly alcohol consumption that is significantly lower than the previous one” — 2 drinks per week for both men and women — and suggests that those who are breastfeeding or trying to conceive should skip the booze altogether.
The report lays out a “continuum of risk associated with average weekly alcohol consumption” to make it clear what low vs. moderate or high risk really looks like. Here’s the summary of the risks, as outlined in Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health: Final Report:
Here’s how Taryn Grieder, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, sums it up:
“Alcohol is a psychoactive drug. Occasional use isn’t going to have really significant effects. Even if you occasionally use something like heroin, you probably wouldn’t see significant effects on your life. But that’s the thing: people aren’t using alcohol occasionally — they’re using it every day … The hope is that people will moderate their usage and not drink every day, because we’ve seen research that has shown that alcohol is a carcinogen.”
So what type of risk are we talking about exactly? The report goes into detail about the most recent research regarding the health issues caused by alcohol.
The report goes on to describe the many other public health consequences of alcohol consumption beyond the risks to personal health.
Needless to say, the report hasn’t gone unnoticed in Canada (or outside its borders) — and many people are up in arms about it. Some disagree outright, some say the report is greatly exaggerated and borders on fear mongering, while others say it’s simply talking about risk assessment and shouldn’t be taken at face value.
A CBC article focuses on the fact that the report is based on risk analysis: “It outlines exactly how many years of life — averaged over the lives of 1,000 males and 1,000 females — would be lost, depending on how many drinks they ingested per week and what disease they had.” The article goes on to suggest that these calculations of risk don’t translate all that well into realistic advice for actual (not hypothetical or “average”) people, and should therefore be taken with a grain of salt.
Still, the science is pretty clear when it comes to what alcohol does to our bodies and minds, so it makes sense to revisit this subject now that more information is available. It also goes without saying that this information should be accessible to everyone. There have been many myths about alcohol and even scientific studies that have been quietly debunked. For example, there’s the idea that moderate drinkers supposedly have a lower risk of mortality than nondrinkers — an idea that was based on studies with serious flaws.
Ultimately, Canada’s new guidelines come down to providing the public with all of the information necessary for each person to make the decision that’s best for them. Professor of family medicine at the University of Saskatchewan Peter Butt told The Guardian, “We wanted to [simply present] the evidence to the Canadian public, so they could reflect on their drinking and make informed decisions … It’s fundamentally based on the right to know.”
The report also provides some tips for safety around alcohol, which can be useful for anyone trying to watch their intake:
In the end, alcohol guidelines in any country are just that — guidelines. It’s up to us to make decisions based on the knowledge we gather from various sources, our own life experience, and knowledge of ourselves. When it comes to deciding what role we would like alcohol to play in our lives, it’s best to keep an open mind and approach the question in the spirit of exploration and curiosity. After all, there is so much to discover in sobriety. Letting our views of alcohol evolve as we learn more about alcohol and how it affects our bodies and minds can only make our lives better.
1. What are the new Canadian guidelines for alcohol consumption?
The new Canadian guidelines recommend limiting alcohol consumption to no more than 2 drinks per week for both men and women. This significant change is based on recent evidence suggesting that no amount of alcohol is truly safe. The new guidelines aim to minimize health risks associated with alcohol consumption.
2. How does Canada's alcohol consumption recommendation compare to guidelines in other countries?
Canada's guidelines are among the strictest, advising a maximum of 2 drinks per week. In contrast, European countries and the United States have higher recommended limits. For example, the U.K. advises up to 14 units of alcohol per week, and the U.S. recommends up to 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women.
3. Why were the Canadian alcohol guidelines updated?
The guidelines were updated to reflect the latest research on the health impacts of alcohol. Studies have shown that even small amounts of alcohol can be harmful, increasing the risk of various cancers, heart disease, and liver disease. The update aims to inform Canadians about these risks to encourage safer alcohol consumption habits.
4. What health risks are associated with alcohol consumption according to the new guidelines?
The guidelines highlight several health risks, including an increased risk of various types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and liver disease. Even low to moderate alcohol consumption is associated with heightened risks.
5. How do the new guidelines address alcohol consumption for different genders?
While the recommendation of no more than 2 drinks per week applies to both men and women, the report discusses gender-specific risks. It notes that men are more likely to drink in excess and face higher risks of accidents and health problems, while women, due to biological differences, may develop health issues from smaller amounts of alcohol.
6. What are some tips for staying safe while consuming alcohol?
The report suggests several strategies for safer alcohol consumption: setting personal limits, drinking slowly, alternating alcoholic drinks with water or other non-alcoholic beverages, eating before drinking, and exploring alcohol-free activities to reduce overall consumption and potential harm.
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