The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), a non-governmental organization based in Ottawa recently, issued a report which states that “there is no safe level” of alcohol consumption and recommends that all Canadians should now drink no more than 2 drinks per week, reduced from the previous recommendation of 14 for men and 10 for women.
No safe level? 2 drinks per week? These conclusions are nonsense. It is our position that, for the following reasons, these recommendations should be ignored by almost everyone and should not be adopted nor referenced by any level of government.
On the flip side, there is some social benefit to relaxing and having a drink – as long as people can control their consumption, said Eric Rimm, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.”To have people feel scared and deny them that drink, I think we’re doing them a disservice by freaking everybody out,” he said.
The Science Has Not Changed
- These lower recommendations are contrary to decades of proven science which consistently have shown that moderate drinkers are as healthy overall, or slightly more healthy, than non-drinkers. They are out of step with the recommendations of nearly all other countries (who are looking at the same science). Contrary to the CCSA’s claims, “the science” has not changed on these issues and recent studies continue to show exactly the same results: see our summary here: Recent Studies on Wine & Health
Health Canada Has Not Accepted these Recommendations
- The lower limits proposed by CCSA are a set of recommendations contained in a report from an advisory group. Health Canada has not accepted these recommendations. The official low risk drinking guidelines have not changed. You can see that they have not changed by visiting the Health Canada website.
Poor Public Policy
- Canada’s historic approach to liquor policy and health has been to focus on addressing harmful consumption. Canada has been successful with this. Statistics Canada recently reported that heavy drinking is at the lowest levels they have ever seen. The CCSA seeks to change this approach to one that is likely to be ineffective. It adopts Prohibition-era thinking by ignoring harmful consumption and focusing on minimal or moderate drinkers who simply want to have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer while watching the hockey game. This “one size fits all approach” provides no useful information on individual health risks in the context of everyday life. Anyone with a serious drinking problem may tune out of the health messaging completely.
Misleading Portrayal of Risk
- The CCSA report contains alarmist and misleading statements of the risks related to alcohol consumption. In fact, the evidence from the vast majority of scientific studies shows correlation (links) between moderate alcohol consumption and improved cardiovascular health while also showing some increases in risk for certain types of cancer, some of which are very rare. See our summary here: Recent Studies on Wine and Health
- Depending upon the individual, these potential benefits and risks could balance each other out, could provide an indicator of worse health or could provide an indicator of improved health. For the most part, the risks of cancer from moderate alcohol consumption are extremely low and in line with many of the other risks that we accept in day to day life.
Biased and Unscientific Advice
- Some of the members of the advisory group that created the Report have documented connections to temperance organizations and strong anti-alcohol views that are out of step with most Canadians. You can see these connections here: CCSA Temperance Connections. While everyone has the right to their opinion, we believe that it is inappropriate for such individuals to be part of an advisory group that is tasked with providing unbiased liquor and health policy recommendations.
In addition, you may wish to review the international commentary on this report which is compiled here:
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