Canada's guidance on alcohol and health : Aparadigm shift

Abstract

Alcohol is asocially accepted food and beverage and as acultural asset is also part of religious rituals. It can be an intoxicant and an addictive substance. It is also anoxious substance as around 3million people worldwide die every year as aresult of alcohol consumption. With the publication by Zhao etal. 2023 the relationship between the quantity of alcohol consumption and mortality reached anew level and changed the recommendations of Canada's Guidance on Alcohol and Health. The J‑curve of the French paradox became alinear relationship between alcohol consumption and mortality because the review of several control groups in previous studies revealed arecruitment error from abstinent ex-drinkers. In their systematic analysis, taking this bias into account the assessment of small amounts of alcohol as acardioprotective stimulant had to be revised. This is aparadigm shift.