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home / 世界杯决赛2022

drinking alcohol much worse for health than previously believed

given that most canadians are unaware of the risks associated with drinking alcohol, the report calls for mandatory warning labels on alcohol bottles and containers.

by liz braun
published jan 17, 2023
read time 2 minute read
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read time 2 minute read
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no amount of alcohol is safe. that’s the conclusion from the final report of the canadian centre on substance use and addiction (ccsa).
given that most canadians are unaware of the risks associated with drinking alcohol — including seven different types of cancer — the report calls for mandatory warning labels on alcohol bottles and containers.
this is an update to the low-risk drinking guidelines published in 2011; formerly, two drinks a day were considered low risk, with 15 drinks a week for men, and 10 drinks a week for women, considered safe.
now, after the work done by two dozen experts over two years, vetting 6,000 peer-reviewed studies, the risk of harm from drinking has been updated:  two drinks is low risk.
moderate risk exists for three to six drinks a week — and increases after that with every additional beverage.
the study also makes it clear there are no health benefits associated with drinking, despite the persistent belief that wine, for example, has some heart health benefits.
according to recent data, alcohol is responsible for about 7,000 cancer deaths a year, mostly breast and colon, but also rectum, mouth and throat, liver, esophagus and larynx. 
liver and heart disease (and stroke) are also associated with alcohol consumption, as are depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.
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the report states that binge-drinking is a known risk factor for death from any cause, “including unintentional injuries (car crashes, drownings, falls), physical and sexual violence, cardiovascular disease (hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke), inflammation of the gastrointestinal system (gastritis, acute pancreatitis), and the development of an alcohol use disorder.”

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according to health canada, in 2017, alcohol contributed to 18,000 deaths in canada and the costs associated with alcohol use in canada were $16.6 billion — $5.4 billion of which was spent on health care.
the ccsa is calling for mandatory warning labels on booze containers that not only warn about serious health risks, but also state the benefits of limiting consumption to two drinks a week.
and those labels would inform consumers how many standard drinks are in a container.
the new research suggests that public education is crucial, given that surveys make it clear that very few young canadians are aware even of the low risk drinking guidelines established in 2011.
and those who follow those 2011 guidelines, the report states, “account for 65% of hospital stays due to unintentional injuries and a substantial percentage of deaths due to digestive conditions (18%) and injuries (40%), suggesting that reducing the burden of disease requires revising the 2011 lrd.”
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the ccsa’s dr. catherine paradis, a leading expert in alcohol and alcohol harms, has suggested that the industry voluntarily place warning labels on alcohol rather than waiting for mandates.
not surprisingly, the alcohol industry is not happy with the idea of labelling.
spokespersons for the beer, wine and spirits industries in canada have rejected the need for labelling, noting that they have their own initiatives for guiding consumers.
in a statement on the spirits canada website, president and ceo jan westcott says in part, “government must ensure that a further review of ccsa’s modelling takes into account the totality of scientific evidence.”
 

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