To drink or not to drink? Canadian policies spark debate about our relationship with alcohol

The new guidelines, funded by Health Canada, represent a dramatic change from previous recommendations from 2011, which recommended low-risk consumption of no more than 10 drinks per week for women and 15 drinks per week for men.

Current HSE guidelines recommend weekly low-risk alcohol guidelines, as there are fewer than 11 standard drinks per week for women and 17 for men. It’s also recommended that drinks be spaced out throughout the week, with two to three non-alcoholic days per week and no more than six standard drinks on any one occasion.

Canadian experts argue the advice is backed by new research that says three to six drinks a week should be considered moderate risk and seven or more drinks a week should be considered high risk.

Negative consequences of alcohol consumption identified by the CCSA include an increased risk of colon and breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, and injury and violence.

Critically, the guidelines also warn that no amount of alcohol is safe if you’re pregnant or trying to conceive, and that abstinence while breastfeeding is the safest option — although a standard drink occasionally doesn’t significantly increase the risk.

These guidelines were met with skepticism by some health professionals.

Dan Malleck, a professor of health sciences at Brock University in Ontario, said the research “ignores the indulgence and pleasure, stress relief and collegiality associated with alcohol.”

He added: “We are not just machines with inputs and outputs of chemicals or food. We actually exist in a social space. And that has a significant impact on our health.”

Others see the guidelines as an attempt to help consumers understand the realities of consumption.

“Alcohol is a psychoactive drug,” said Taryn Grieder, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.

“Casual use will not have a significant impact. But that’s the thing: People don’t consume alcohol occasionally – they consume it every day.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported earlier this month that no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.

“We can’t talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol consumption,” said Dr. Carina Ferreira-Borges, Regional Adviser on Alcohol and Illicit Drugs at the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

“The only thing we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is — or in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is.”

It is clear that we lack the overall picture.

Globally, the WHO European Region has the highest alcohol consumption, with more than 200 million people in the Region at risk of alcohol-related cancer.

Disadvantaged and vulnerable populations have higher rates of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations because the harms from a given amount and drinking pattern are greater for poorer drinkers and their families than for wealthier drinkers in a given society. “Although it is well known that alcohol causes cancer, this fact is not yet widely known to the general public in most countries,” said Dr. Ferreira-Borges.

She said we need clear health information on labels, empowered and trained health workers who are comfortable educating patients about the risks of alcohol and cancer, and widespread awareness of this issue in countries and communities.

Against this stands the almighty marketing arm of the alcohol industry.

This has recently been highlighted by Irish community action groups and addiction experts, leading to Health and Education Ministries guiding all schools that schools should not use educational materials funded by the alcohol industry.

It added that these guidelines come with an acknowledgment that alcohol industry funding is a conflict of interest.

There is a growing understanding and evidence base of the commercial determinants of health – particularly in relation to the ability of youth education programs supported by harmful industries to normalize the products of those industries and their position in society, and attention from industry as a driving force to deflect damage.

Equally worrying is the burgeoning ‘alibi marketing’ of alcohol-free products being displayed outside of dedicated alcohol areas in shops and supermarkets.

Advertising alcohol-free products in public places where alcohol advertising is now banned — such as on public transportation and in sports settings — is also an opportunity to circumvent laws designed to limit alcohol’s impact on every aspect of our lives.

Specifically, alibi marketing involves a brand using features of the brand that are synonymous with it without actually promoting it.

Alcohol Action Ireland highlighted the case of the Six Nations Championship in France, which introduced restrictions to curb alcohol advertising in sport and passed alibi marketing. The term “Guinness” has been replaced with “Greatness” with the same color and font.

French alcohol marketing laws in France resulted in the Heineken Cup being renamed the ‘H Cup’, with all pitchside advertising reflecting this change. The advertisement continued to maintain brand awareness by using Heineken’s branding of a red star on a green background.

Alibi marketing reached new heights during UEFA Euro 2016 when main sponsor Carlsberg only used their slogan “Probably… the best in the world” on the billboards around the pitch, again using the same color and font as the brand name.

This practice became widespread in Ireland following the passage of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (PHAA) and the 2019 ban on alcohol advertising within 200 meters of a school, playground or early childhood education facilities to the public transport or in the cinema.

Some alcohol companies immediately began promoting non-alcoholic brands in these areas, with the ads being almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

This practice undermines the law’s intent to reduce the visibility of alcohol marketing, particularly to children.

The GAA has also partnered with Guinness to promote its alcohol-free product, which in turn undermines the law’s principle of exempting sport from advertising alcohol.

Recent Canadian advice to limit alcohol consumption to two drinks a week may seem extreme. But the powerful arm of the alcohol industry, which ensures that the profit-driven global marketplace keeps moving forward, is causing immeasurable harm to individuals, families, communities and society.

Health risks are becoming more apparent – particularly with regard to fetal alcohol syndrome, cancer, heart disease and stroke – even with moderate consumption.

This message needs to be loud and clear to consumers.

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dr Catherine Conlon is a Doctor of Public Health in Cork and former Director of Human Health and Nutrition at Safefood