Ep. 158: Explaining Canada’s New Alcohol Guidelines
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Above, a detail from the one-page public summary of Canada’s 2023 Guidance on Alcohol and Health. Source: CCSA
Canada’s new alcohol guidelines took a radically different approach. Most health recommendations provide advice on safe amounts of the substance in question. But Canada’s 2023 Guidance on Alcohol and Health tells us there is no safe amount when it comes to drinking spirits, wine or beer. Sidestepping any suggestion for specific consumption levels, they instead inform Canadians about the risk we incur for an alcohol-caused death at given consumption levels per week. To learn about the implications for us all, Medcan chief medical officer Dr. Peter Nord walks us through interviews with guideline coauthors Dr. Tim Naimi, physician and director of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, and Dr. Jürgen Rehm, epidemiologist at CAMH and professor at the University of Toronto. We also check in with guideline critic Dr. Dan Malleck, historian and health sciences professor at Brock University.
LINKS
Read the 2023 CCSA’s final report on Canada’s alcohol guidelines, or check out the one-page summary.
To compare, here is the explainer brochure for the previous round of guidelines.
Read the Globe and Mail op-ed by Dan Malleck, interviewed in this episode.
Get more information about alcohol and its effects on health:
Nine Reasons to Go Dry This February: Canadian Cancer Society
It's time to put cancer warning labels on alcohol, experts say: CBC
Alcohol consumption and site-specific cancer risk: a comprehensive dose–response meta-analysis: British Journal of Cancer
Improving Knowledge that Alcohol Can Cause Cancer is Associated with Consumer Support for Alcohol Policies: Findings from a Real-World Alcohol Labelling Study: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health: NY Times
Pushing Alcohol While Health Experts Say Risk-Free Drinking Is a Myth: NY Times
A dissenting view on the low-tolerance guidelines: Financial Post
Risks of injury from common causes, from the U.S. National Safety Council, for context: Injury Facts
Why does society accept a higher risk for alcohol than for other voluntary or involuntary risks? BMC Medicine
A great explanation for understanding medical risk: BMJ Best Practice
WHO report on alcohol consumption that ranked Canada 57th in drinking per capita based on 2016 figures.
INSIGHTS
Everyone’s talking about Canada’s new alcohol guidelines. How long has it been since the previous guidelines came out? How are these new guidelines different? [3:08]
Dr. Tim Naimi explains how the new guidelines were put together. What sort of research did they look at, and who compiled the data? [6:43]
What is a risk-based approach, and what does it mean when scientists look at risk thresholds? [7:36]
Dr. Jürgen Rehm explains that any activity we do comes with a certain level of risk. [10:59]
Having two drinks a week brings your likelihood of dying an alcohol-related death to one in 1000. What other daily activities present the same risk of death? [13:04]
How do the new guidelines compare to how much Canadians are actually drinking? [18:29]
The truth is, alcohol has been linked to cancer, heart disease and other diseases. Every year, about 7,000 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer that was linked to alcohol consumption, says Dr. Nord. [22:37]
Dr. Dan Malleck disagrees with the guidelines. He claims that they might encourage stigma around drinking, and that their use of relative risk instead of absolute risk gives an inaccurate portrayal of the dangers of alcohol. [26:31]
What does Dr. Peter Nord say about the potential health benefits that alcohol might provide someone? [33:09]
Dr. Nord, the CCSA, and our expert guests agree, the new guidelines are about making informed choices about your individual risk when it comes to drinking alcohol. [35:41]
Below, see the tables for men and women describing the risk incurred at specific consumption levels per week. Source: CCSA
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Reference to, or mention of, specific treatments or therapies, does not constitute or imply a recommendation or endorsement. The links provided within the associated document are to assist the reader with the specific information highlighted. Any third-party links are not endorsed by Medcan.