<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) this week called for a substantial reduction in consumption, warning that seemingly moderate drinking poses a number of serious health risks, including cancer, heart disease and stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new guidelines, funded by Health Canada, represent a dramatic shift from previous recommendations issued in 2011, when Canadians were told that low-risk consumption meant no more than 10 drinks a week for women and 15 drinks a week for men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe wanted to simply to present the evidence to the Canadian public, so they could reflect on their drinking and make informed decisions,\u201d said Peter Butt, a professor of family medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and a member of the panel that drafted the guidelines. \u201cIt\u2019s fundamentally based on the right to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its measurements, the CCSA considers a standard drink to be a 12oz (355ml) serving of 5%-alcohol beer, a 5oz (148ml) glass of 12%-alcohol wine or a shot glass of 40% spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the UK, the NHS recommends no more than six 6oz glasses of wine or six pints of 4% beer per week \u2013 ideally spread across three days or more. Health officials in the United States recommend no more than two drinks per day for men and only one for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Canadian experts say that new research suggests three to six drinks a week should be considered moderate risk for both men and women, and seven or more drinks a week is high risk. In addition to elevated risk of colon and breast cancer, as well as heart disease and strokes, the CCSA also identified both injuries and violence as negative outcomes from drinking alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about prohibition. This is simply about reducing the amount one drinks,\u201d said Butt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guidelines also warn that no amount of alcohol is safe when pregnant or trying to get pregnant. While abstinence during breastfeeding is the safest option, a standard drink occasionally does not significantly elevate risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new guidelines were met with skepticism by some health experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis type of research often marginalizes other considerations of health and wellbeing from alcohol,\u201d said Dan Malleck, a professor of health sciences at Brock University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith their job as the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse and Addiction, there\u2019s no space in there for considering there might be benefits. Their job is to find harm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malleck described the guidelines as \u201cirresponsible\u201d, and said they risk creating \u201canxiety and stress\u201d among Canadians who once saw themselves as moderate drinkers but now occupy a \u201chigh-risk\u201d category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe research they\u2019re using also ignores the enjoyment and pleasure and stress relief and collegiality associated with alcohol. None of those things are in the calculation whatsoever,\u201d he said. \u201cWe aren\u2019t just machines with inputs and output of chemicals or nutrition. We actually exist in a social space. And that has a significant impact on our health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others, however, see the guidelines as an attempt to help Canadians better understand the realities of alcohol consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlcohol is a psychoactive drug. Occasional use isn\u2019t going to have really significant effects. Even if you occasionally use something like heroin, you probably wouldn\u2019t see significant effects on your life. But that\u2019s the thing: people aren\u2019t using alcohol occasionally \u2013 they\u2019re using it every day,\u201d said Taryn Grieder, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe hope is that people will moderate their usage and not drink every day, because we\u2019ve seen research that has shown that alcohol is a carcinogen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grieder says that there are components in alcohol that can be beneficial, but are typically only found in certain drinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA glass of red wine a day might have some benefits. But not beer, not a shot of hard alcohol. I think people took this idea of alcohol possibly having health benefits and really ran with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CCSA also suggested there could be benefits in mandatory labelling of alcoholic beverages \u2013 warning of possible health risks and including guidance on consumption standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt might help change the perception for people, with labels showing cirrhosis of the liver and the possible long-term effects that drinking can have,\u201d said Grieder. \u201cEveryone is different and some people metabolize alcohol differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut these guidelines are for the average person, and the hope is that people will recognize the risks associated with use \u2013 and especially long-term use.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New alcohol guidelines recommending that Canadians limit themselves to just two drinks a week \u2013 and ideally cut alcohol altogether \u2013 have prompted intense debate over risk versus enjoyment in a country where the vast majority of adults regularly consume alcohol. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) this week called for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":29264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80,64],"tags":[4791,6612,8241,8242,1953,11017,1221,5262,11399,11403,11180,11273,5455,12634,9397,1738,11525,11743,10303,12309,3570,11973,2451,10313,5278,663,5807,7843,11259,5470,7199,5324,5969,12605,3080,9262,214,3954,5320,594],"class_list":["post-29263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-health-fitness","tag-abuse","tag-alcohol","tag-breast","tag-breast-cancer","tag-canada","tag-canadian","tag-cancer","tag-cut","tag-debate","tag-disease","tag-drink","tag-drug","tag-family","tag-health","tag-health-alcohol","tag-heart-disease","tag-injuries","tag-majority","tag-medicine","tag-men","tag-nhs","tag-one","tag-pregnant","tag-professor","tag-quality","tag-red-wine","tag-risk","tag-saskatchewan","tag-shot","tag-space","tag-src","tag-stroke","tag-toronto","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-states","tag-university","tag-will","tag-women","tag-who"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}