As some people try to cut down their drinking and embrace Dry January, they may look to CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 health agencies for guidance SA国际影视传媒� and find some conflicting advice.
This week, the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research launched a website where users can calculate their health risks SA国际影视传媒� including cancer, heart disease and stroke SA国际影视传媒� based on the amount of alcohol they consume.
The website is built on guidelines issued two years ago by the government-supported Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), which said the risk of cancer rises at much lower levels of alcohol consumption than previously thought. Any more than two standard drinks a week puts people at higher risk, it said in its report.
However, Health Canada has not adopted the changes the CCSA released in January 2023. It still advises Canadians to limit their drinks to 10 per week for women and 15 per week for men SA国际影视传媒� an amount that the CCSA says puts someone at SA国际影视传媒渋ncreasingly high riskSA国际影视传媒� of developing serious illness, including breast and colon cancer.
Health CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 guide has been in place since 2011 and the government is sticking with it, the office of the federal minister of mental health and addictionstold The Canadian Press Thursday.
Dr. Timothy Naimi, director of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria, said the conflicting guidance SA国际影视传媒渉as been an ongoing issue for the public health community and scientistsSA国际影视传媒� for the last two years.
Naimi was one of the researchers involved in developing the CCSASA国际影视传媒檚 updated guidelines and led the creation of the new website SA国际影视传媒� knowalcohol.ca SA国际影视传媒� that allows people to calculate their risk and the positive impact of reducing their alcohol consumption.
Both the Health Canada and the CCSA guidelines say the only zero-risk approach to alcohol is not to drink it at all.
SA国际影视传媒淎lcohol remains the leading preventable cause of health and social problems in Canada,SA国际影视传媒� said Naimi.
SA国际影视传媒淚 think a lot of Canadians have been interested in drinking less. But if you look at it, governments havenSA国际影视传媒檛 really followed suit with the kind of policies that would help people drink less, you know, sort of guide them in that direction.SA国际影视传媒�
Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, placing it in the same category as tobacco smoke and asbestos, along with more than 100 other substances.
On Jan. 3, the U.S. Surgeon General called for more public awareness about the link between alcohol and cancer, including warning labels on alcohol bottles and containers.
The surgeon generalSA国际影视传媒檚 advisory said less than half of American adults know that thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a link between alcohol and seven types of cancers, including breast, liver, colorectal, esophagus, mouth, throat and larynx.
Naimi said a similar number of Canadians are unaware about the link between alcohol and these types of cancer.
SA国际影视传媒淢ost people are getting their information about alcohol from the (alcohol) industry, which is to say theySA国际影视传媒檙e not getting information that alcohol causes cancer,SA国际影视传媒� he said.
SA国际影视传媒淐urrently the government does not require any kind of health warning or health information on alcohol labels in contrast to whatSA国际影视传媒檚 required for cigarettes or cannabis products, or frankly, for any other packaged food and beverage products sold in Canada.SA国际影视传媒�
In an emailed statement Thursday evening, the office of federal Minister of Mental Health and Addictions YaSA国际影视传媒檃ra Saks said officially updating alcohol guidelines is a work in progress.
SA国际影视传媒淐anadaSA国际影视传媒檚 2011 low-risk alcohol drinking guidelines remain the official guidance to Canadians and Health CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 website continues to reflect this,SA国际影视传媒� the statement said.
SA国际影视传媒淭he CCSASA国际影视传媒檚 proposed guidelines are part of discussions with a broad range of stakeholders to determine the best approaches to communicating on the risks of alcohol consumption to the public.SA国际影视传媒�
Naimi said he believes the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 hesitancy to adopt the revised guidelines is due to SA国际影视传媒渋ndustry pressure,SA国际影视传媒� noting that Health Canada was SA国际影视传媒渧ery happy with the scientific processSA国际影视传媒� behind them.
SA国际影视传媒楨mpowered to make their own choicesSA国际影视传媒�
The Canadian Press has asked SaksSA国际影视传媒� office whether there is pressure from the alcohol industry on changing recommended daily limits, if they have concerns about the evidence cited by the CCSA, and if they believe the conflicting advice is confusing for Canadians looking to change their habits.
As of Jan. 3, responses to those questions had not been received.
Knowalcohol.ca officially launched on Jan. 2 and a social media promotion campaign was set to begin on Jan. 6.
Naimi said the purpose of the website is not necessarily to convince people to stop drinking altogether, but to SA国际影视传媒渋nform people in a hopefully non-threatening but informative waySA国际影视传媒� about the impacts of alcohol.
Users enter their age, sex and number of standard drinks they have per week and have the options of calculating their health risks, the amount of money drinking is costing them, or the number of calories theySA国际影视传媒檙e consuming.
The knowalcohol.ca calculator also offers the option of entering the number of drinks the user might consider cutting back to and seeing what difference that could make.
SA国际影视传媒淚f youSA国际影视传媒檙e drinking, you know five or six drinks a day and you can cut down to two or three drinks a day, youSA国际影视传媒檙e going to be so much better off, even if youSA国际影视传媒檙e stillSA国际影视传媒� in the higher risk zone,SA国际影视传媒� Naimi said.
The health harms for any given amount are displayed in risk percentages of developing cancers, how many cigarettes the number of drinks equates to, and number of minutes of life lost per drink.
SA国际影视传媒淎t the end of the daySA国际影视传媒� what weSA国际影视传媒檙e really after is just having credible, actionable information available for consumers so that they can be empowered to make their own choices,SA国际影视传媒� Naimi said.
