39% of Southwestern Public Health residents report risky alcohol consumption

Canada’s new Guidance on Alcohol and Health states even a small amount of alcohol can be damaging to health

Today the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction finalized Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health with updated thresholds for low-, moderate-, and high-risk alcohol use. While local data shows most adults in the Southwestern Public Health region already follow the new guidance, nearly 4 in 10 regularly put their health at risk.

As a replacement to the 2011 Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines, the new guidance presents overwhelming evidence that less is better when it comes to drinking alcohol, and that any level of alcohol consumption increases the risk of long-term health harms – such as cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and alcohol dependency – and immediate harms of violence, injuries, and motor vehicle crashes. These risks increase with each drink consumed, with 3-to-6 drinks per week considered a moderate risk, and anything above 6 is a high-risk. While the guidance indicates that up to 2 standard drinks per week pose a low risk to health, the World Health Organization says there is no safe level of alcohol consumption at all.

According to self-reported data from the Canadian Community Health Survey, the majority (61%) of adult residents in the Southwestern Public Health region report having no-risk or low-risk alcohol use, which is comparable to rates reported across Ontario and the Southwest regions.

However, 39% of residents reported consuming 3 or more drinks per week, with 19% consuming 7 or more. Of note, only those in the high-risk category reported drinking every day in the past week. This was true locally and in both the Southwest region and Ontario populations.

The guidance also recommends policies be put in place to promote public health, including awareness of the health risks of alcohol consumption, restricting the availability of alcohol, clear information about the health and safety of products, and mandatory labelling for health warnings and nutrition.

Individuals who want to reduce their alcohol intake can visit www.swpublichealth.ca/alcohol for a list of supports and resources in the community. Also, refer to Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health for full details, including an overview of how alcohol increases health harms based on Canadian research. 

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The local SWPH data for this report were extracted from the 2017-2018 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). This is the most recent data available.