Canadians should consider drinking less alcohol to decrease their chances of getting cancer, according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).
The national recommendations come from an updated report released Tuesday—and it’s a stark change from 2011, when the report on Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines was first published.
The biggest changes are adjustments to what low-risk drinking means, the risks of cancer from alcohol consumption, and concerns about young people drinking alcohol.
LOW-RISK DRINKING
The new guidelines now describe low-risk drinking as two standard drinks or less per week.
A standard drink refers to the equivalent to a bottle of beer, glass of wine, a shot glass of spirits or a bottle of cider.
This is a notable difference from the initial guidelines made more than 11 years ago, which said two standard drinks a day was low-risk, which averaged out to 10 drinks per week for women or 15 drinks per week for men.
The update also defines binge drinking as consuming five drinks or more for men, and four drinks or more for women in one setting.
ALCOHOL AND HEALTH
The fact that alcohol is a carcinogen that can cause at least seven types of cancer is often unknown or overlooked, according to the CCSA.
Their data suggests the use of alcohol causes nearly 7,000 cancer-related deaths each year in Canada, with most cases being breast and colon cancer, followed by rectum, mouth and throat, liver, esophagus and larynx cancer.
According to the CCSA, drinking less alcohol is among the top 10 healthy habits to prevent cancer.
“Taken together, overwhelming evidence confirms that when it comes to drinking alcohol: Less is better,” the CCSA said in the report.
The report notes that heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada.
In light of this data, the CCSA recommends that warning labels be added to alcohol bottles, and many Canadians seem to be in favour of this advice based on social media.
The update also discusses the dangers of alcohol and violence, saying, “people who have a history of alcohol-related violence should avoid any consumption of alcohol.”
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ALCOHOL
According to the most recent data from the Canadian Alcohol and Drugs Survey Health in 2019, young adults between the ages of 20–24 were less likely than other age groups to drink within the guidelines.
The updates in the report mirror what the World Health Organization said in May 2022—that fatal alcohol-related injuries tend to occur in relatively younger age groups. The organization has also encouraged regulating the marketing of alcoholic beverages to young people.
Evidence already shows that young people are drinking less than generations before them, which can be attributed to being more health-conscious, and to switch to other substances like marijuana.
To persuade Canadians to abide by the updated recommendations, the CCSA wants Health Canada to implement a policy of mandatory labelling of all alcoholic beverages to list the number of standard drinks in a container and health warnings.
(Photo caption: Canadians should consider drinking less alcohol to decrease their chances of getting cancer, according to new guidelines from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. Courtesy – Flickr/Danny Rahmat)
