Alcohol In Canada Research Articles

Why Canadians deserve to have mandated health and standard drink information labels on alcohol containers

To reduce deaths, morbidity, and social problems from alcohol in Canada, a multi-dimensional robust response is needed, including a comprehensive alcohol control strategy at the provincial, territorial, and federal levels. Alcohol container labels with health and standard drink information are an essential component of this strategy. This commentary provides a rationale for the mandatory labelling of all alcohol products, summarizes Canadian initiatives to date to legislate alcohol container warning labels, and addresses myths and misconceptions about labels. Canadians deserve direct, accessible information about (1) the inherent health risks associated with alcohol consumption, (2) the number of standard drinks per container and volume of a standard drink, and (3) guidance for preventing or reducing consumption-related health risks. Enhanced health labels on alcohol containers are long overdue.

Nutrition cues on ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage containers sold in grocery stores in Québec City, Canada

Nutrition cues on ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages (RTDs) may create an illusion of healthfulness; however, nutrition information on alcohol in Canada is seldom regulated. This research aimed to systematically record the use of nutrition cues on a subsample of RTDs sold in grocery stores. In July 2021, all available RTDs were purchased from three major grocery store banners in Québec City, Canada. Data regarding container size, purchase format, alcohol-by-volume (ABV), presence of nutrition cues (nutrient claims, other food-related claims and nutrition facts tables [NFTs]) and container surface occupied by nutrition cues were recorded. RTDs were classified as hard seltzers or pre-mixed cocktails and their ABV as “light-strength” (3.5%–4.0% ABV) and “regular-strength” (>4.0%–7.0% ABV). In total (n = 193), 23% were hard seltzers and 17% light-strength. Most RTDs (68%) had ≥1 type of nutrition cue, most often natural flavour claims (45%), an NFT (38%), and calorie claims (29%). Light-strength beverages were more likely than regular-strength to carry any nutrient claim (97% vs. 19%, p < 0.0001), an NFT (97% vs. 26%, p < 0.0001) and other food-related claims (e.g., natural flavour) (88% vs. 52%, p = 0.0002). In adjusted regression analyses, hard seltzers were more likely than pre-mixed cocktails to carry any nutrient claim (AOR = 19.1, 95% CI:7.5,48.7), any other food-related claim (AOR = 7.5, 95% CI:2.9,19.4), and an NFT (AOR = 45.5, 95% CI:12.6,163.9). The mean container surface occupied by nutrition cues was higher for hard seltzers compared to pre-mixed cocktails (13% vs 3%, p < 0.0001). The high proportion of RTDs carrying nutrition cues supports the need to further regulate labelling and marketing of RTDs.

Relationships between sales of legal medical cannabis and alcohol in Canada,

The extent to which legalizing cannabis use might lead to increased or decreased alcohol use has important implications for public health, economic growth, and government policy. This study analyzed Canada's monthly per capita sales of alcohol and legal medical cannabis using fixed effect panel data linear regressions. The data covered seven Canadian regions from January 2011 to September 2018, and controlled for changing levels of retail activity, alcohol prices, tertiary education, unemployment, and impaired driving penalties. The analysis estimated that each dollar of legal medical cannabis sold was associated with an average alcohol sales decrease of roughly $0.74 to $0.84. This suggests that medical cannabis was an economic substitute for alcohol in Canada, and that the country's 2017–2018 alcohol sales were roughly 1.8% lower than they would have been without legal medical cannabis. The results therefore indirectly imply that reduced alcohol consumption might have partly offset cannabis legalization's health and economic impacts.

Canada Dry or High Times?: A Historiographical Look at Drugs and Alcohol in Canada

Drugs and alcohol have been featured in Canadian history as critical commodities that influenced legal decisions, social interactions, medical options, and even trade decisions. Canadian historians have examined alcohol, drugs, temperance reformers, and intoxicated Canadians in ways that deepen our understanding of how mind-altering products have influenced our Canadian values and how those ideas have changed over time. In this historiographical article, I examine how Canadian historians have responded to trends in historical scholarship that embrace a focus on social history, labour, women, medicine, colonialism, and culture. I argue that alcohol and drugs are ubiquitous in these historiographical shifts but that the uneven pace of decriminalizing intoxication has also led to new sources of information, new historical voices, and perhaps the need to rethink how our attitudes towards psychoactivity have affected our understanding of Canadian history.

A timely piece that resonates with the South African experience: Commentary on Stockwell et al.

The authors correctly conclude that the burden from alcohol in Canada is substantially greater than it is from COVID-19, and thus, alcohol should be given more attention. However, they fail to mention that in some countries, with the rise in COVID-19-related hospital admissions, competition can occur between COVID-19 and trauma patients for scarce hospital resources. In South Africa, this has led to the temporary banning of alcohol sales at two periods during the lockdown. Stockwell et al. highlight the fact that alcohol is deemed an 'essential service' in many countries and point to the reasons why this might have occurred, and that industry appears to be taking advantage of lockdown conditions to expand their reach in ways that might continue after the lockdown. The alcohol industry in South Africa has also used the points given by Stockwell et al. as to why governments might be reluctant to restrict alcohol at this time in pushing back against imposition of alcohol control measures, and furthermore referred to the effect of the sales ban on jobs in the alcohol and related industries and policy inconsistencies in dealing with different industries. Finally, the commentary expands on the measures presented on how governments should use the opportunity provided by the COVID-19 crisis to push for further alcohol control measures to be implemented.

Calorie Intake from Alcohol in Canada: Why New Labelling Requirements are Necessary.

We estimated calorie intake from alcohol in Canada, overall and by gender, age, and province, and provide evidence to advocate for mandatory alcohol labelling requirements. Annual per capita (aged 15+) alcohol sales data in litres of pure ethanol by beverage type were taken from Statistics Canada's CANSIM database and converted into calories. The apportionment of consumption by gender, age, and province was based on data from the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drug Survey. Estimated energy requirements (EER) were from Canada's Food Guide. The average drinker consumed 250 calories, or 11.2% of their daily EER in the form of alcohol, with men (13.3%) consuming a higher proportion of their EER from alcohol than women (8.2%). Drinkers consumed more than one-tenth of their EER from alcohol in all but one province. By beverage type, beer contributes 52.7% of all calories derived from alcohol, while wine (20.8%); spirits (19.8%); and ciders, coolers, and other alcohol (6.7%) also contribute substantially. The substantial caloric impact of alcoholic drinks in the Canadian diet suggests that the addition of caloric labelling on these drinks is a necessary step.

Prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders among the general and Aboriginal populations in Canada and the United States

Prenatal alcohol exposure may cause a number of health complications for the mother and developing fetus, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). This study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of i) alcohol use (any amount) and binge drinking (4 or more standard drinks on a single occasion) during pregnancy, and ii) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and FASD among the general and Aboriginal populations in Canada and the United States, based on the available literature. Comprehensive systematic literature searches and meta-analyses, assuming a random-effects model, were conducted. It was revealed that about 10% and 15% of pregnant women in the general population consume alcohol in Canada and the United States, respectively, and that about 3% of women engage in binge drinking during pregnancy in both countries. However, the prevalence of alcohol use during pregnancy in the Aboriginal populations of the United States and Canada were found to be approximately 3–4 times higher, respectively, compared to the general population. Even more alarmingly, it was estimated that approximately one in five women in the Aboriginal populations in both countries engage in binge drinking during pregnancy. Further, among the general population of Canada, the pooled prevalence was estimated to be about 1 per 1000 for FAS and 5 per 1000 for FASD. However, compared to the general population, the prevalence of FAS and FASD among the Aboriginal population in Canada was estimated to be 38 times and 16 times higher, respectively. With respect to the United States, the pooled prevalence of FAS and FASD was estimated to be about 2 per 1000 and 15 per 1,000, respectively, among the general population, and 4 per 1000 and 10 per 1,000, respectively, among the Aboriginal population. The FAS and FASD pooled prevalence estimates presented here should be used with caution due to the limited number of existing studies and their methodological limitations. Based on the results of the current study, it is evident that there is an urgent need for implementing more effective national prevention and surveillance strategies to monitor and lower the prevalence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and FASD.

Pricing of alcohol in Canada: A comparison of provincial policies and harm-reduction opportunities.

Alcohol pricing is an effective prevention policy. This paper compares the 10 Canadian provinces on three research-based alcohol pricing policies-minimum pricing, pricing by alcohol content and maintaining prices relative to inflation. The selection of these three policies was based on systematic reviews and seminal research papers. Provincial data for 2012 were obtained from Statistics Canada and relevant provincial ministries, subsequently sent to provincial authorities for verification, and then scored by team members. All provinces, except for Alberta, have minimum prices for at least one beverage type sold in off-premise outlets. All provinces, except for British Columbia and Quebec, have separate (and higher) minimum pricing for on-premise establishments. Regarding pricing on alcohol content, western and central provinces typically scored higher than provinces in Eastern Canada. Generally, minimum prices were lower than the recommended $1.50 per standard drink for off-premise outlets and $3.00 per standard drink in on-premise venues. Seven of 10 provinces scored 60% or higher compared to the ideal on indexing prices to inflation. Prices for a representative basket of alcohol products in Ontario and Quebec have lagged significantly behind inflation since 2006. While examples of evidence-based alcohol pricing policies can be found in every jurisdiction in Canada, significant inter-provincial variation leaves substantial unrealised potential for further reducing alcohol-related harm and costs. This comparative assessment of alcohol price policies provides clear indications of how individual provinces could adjust their pricing policies and practices to improve public health and safety. [Giesbrecht N, Wettlaufer A, Thomas G, Stockwell T, Thompson K, April N, Asbridge M, Cukier S, Mann R, McAllister J, Murie A, Pauley C, Plamondon L, Vallance K. Pricing of alcohol in Canada: A comparison of provincial policies and harm-reduction opportunities. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:289-297].

“Incriminating Conditions of the Body:” The Breathalyzer and the Reframing of Alcohol and Deviance in Late Twentieth-Century Canada

AbstractIn the third quarter of the twentieth century, attitudes toward and policies governing the sale and use of alcohol in Canada were liberalized. Alcohol problems were increasingly medicalized with an emphasis on individual alcoholics. In the criminal justice sphere, police, courts and jails were affected by a partial decriminalization of the traditional offence of public drunkenness. During the 1960s a lobby of safety experts advocated increased criminal sanctions against automobile drivers who consumed alcohol. Canada’s national breathalyzer law of 1969, although not implemented in a uniform fashion and subjected to police discretion and legal challenges, was a major escalation of state authority over citizens who consumed a legal commodity. Detection and prosecution of impaired driving also constituted an expansion of the use of forensic technology against “guilty bodies.” Provincial governments were responsible for enforcement of the law, which was strengthened in 1975 and 1985, and also introduc...

659U-shaped association between alcohol and arterial stiffness in young adults

659U-shaped association between alcohol and arterial stiffness in young adults

Alcohol in Canada: reducing the toll through focused interventions and public health policies.

<b>3021</b> <h3><b>Objectives:</b></h3> In the United States, Lutetium-177 is being used to treat patient’s with gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors with the FDA approved radiopharmaceutical Lutathera, which is manufactured by Advanced Accelerator Applications. In addition, Radiomedix, is manufacturing Lutetium-177-PSMA to treat patients with metastatic prostate cancer as part of a phase III clinical trial which is run by Endocyte. Each company uses a different process to manufacture the Lutetium, one of which adds a small amount of metastable Lutetium-177 which has a 160.4 day half-life. Without the metastable component, Lutetium-177 has a 6.65 day half-life. The difference in manufacturing methods may lead to differences in handling and disposing of the radioactive material. The purpose here is to share a single institution’s experience, OHSU, with Lutetium-177 from different manufacturers. <h3><b>Methods:</b></h3> After administration of the radionuclide therapy, any radioactive waste is stored in a secure area to decay in storage. With a half-life of 6.65 days, our process is to check for any residual activity at approximately 65 days or 10 half-lives. After this decay period, we compared residual activity in multiple vials between manufacturer’s which had the same calibration date or were within one or two days of each other. To do this comparison, we measured the vial in a dose calibrator and also withdrew 1cc from each vial and measured the counts per minute in a Perkin Elmer Wizard well counter. <h3><b>Results:</b></h3> When comparing waste from each manufacturer which had the same calibration date or were within one or two days of each other, we noticed that measured counts per minute from the well counter were 200% higher for vials from AAA. This phenomenon is consistent across all vials that were compared. We believe this is directly correlated to the metastable component that can be found in Lutetium-177 from AAA. The prolonged presence of radioactivity in the vials from AAA have required us to use a third-party company for disposal of this radioactive waste, which has led to increase in space needed for decay in storage and an additional operating cost to properly handle this material. <b>Conclusion:</b> In summary, Lutetium-177 has become a vital tool for radionuclide therapy, however, there are important considerations for decay and disposal of the radioactive waste which will vary based on the method of production. Having this information available when starting new programs and service lines is critical to long term success and compliance with regulatory agencies.

Masculinities, diet and senior Punjabi Sikh immigrant men: food for Western thought?

The high rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease among Punjabi Sikh (PS) men are often linked to diet. Although some high fat and sugar foods in both traditional and Western foods negatively influence these illnesses, little is known about what underpins PS immigrant men's dietary practices. This article details the connections between masculinities and diet to reveal how varying gendered ideals can inform and influence the practices of senior PS Canadian immigrant men who attended community-based men's groups. Participants' masculine ideals and their alignment to those ideals were deeply rooted in spirituality and traditional cultures, which shaped the use of specific foods and beverages, yet there was also evidence that the availability and affordability of dairy products and alcohol in Canada strongly influenced men's diets. While the men's group leaders educated attendees about diet, ideologies reinforcing ties between femininities and the cooking of meals often prevailed. Linkages between participants' masculine ideals and dietary practices were both similar and discordant with the findings reported in studies of Western men. The findings drawn from this study may direct what, how and where dietary messages are targeted to senior PS Canadian immigrant men.

Deaths Associated with High-Volume Drinking of Alcohol among Adults in Canada in 2002: A Need for Primary Care Intervention?

This study estimates risks of mortality associated with high-volume drinking for Canada in 2002 by age and sex. Distribution of exposure was taken from a major Canadian survey and corrected for per capita consumption from production and sales. High-volume drinking was defined as a daily consumption of ⩾40 grams of pure alcohol (at least 3 Canadian drinks) for men and ⩾20 grams of pure alcohol (at least 1.5 Canadian drinks) for women. Risk relations were taken from the published literature and combined with exposure to calculate age-and sex-specific alcohol-attributable fractions for high-volume drinking. Information on mortality was obtained from Statistics Canada and combined with alcohol-attributable fractions to estimate the overall mortality due to alcohol. About 4,950 net deaths (3,236 in those below 70 years of age) were due to high-volume drinking of alcohol in Canada in 2002. This constituted 2.2% (5.0% among those below 70 years of age) of all deaths. The net deaths were composed of 5,717 deaths caused and 767 deaths prevented. There was an age gradient, with the net deaths highest in 45–59 years age group. About 70.6% (5,717/8,103) of the overall deaths caused by alcohol were the result of high-volume drinking. Overall, the net impact of high-volume drinking of alcohol consumption on mortality in Canada is high. Policies should strive to reduce the burden of high-volume alcohol consumption. In addition to alcohol control measures, individual level interventions should be implemented in primary care to significantly reduce such burden.

Determining an Appropriate Standard for Duplicate Breath Test Agreement

ABSTRACTJurisdictions measuring duplicate breath samples in drunk-driving cases must decide on a decision rule to employ in order to identify unacceptable differences. Selecting the appropriate decision rule always involves balancing the probability of a false-positive error with that of error detection. The most common decision rules currently used, 0.020 g/210 L (20 mg/100 mL reported blood alcohol in Canada) or some specified percent of the mean, do not adequately accommodate these probabilities nor account for the non-constant variance of breath alcohol measurement. A decision rule is proposed that accommodates the relevant probabilities and measurement variability by employing normal distribution theory. The proposed decision rule will have a probability of error detection of at least 80% and a probability of false-positive error of less than 5% for concentrations up to approximately 0.23 g/210 L (230 mg/100 mL reported blood alcohol). Compared to other commonly used decision rules, the proposed rule maintains the maximum power for error detection between the relevant forensic concentration of 0.05 and 0.28 g/210 L (50 and 280 mg/100 mL reported blood alcohol). The proposed decision rule provides a sound statistical basis for establishing fitness-for-pur- pose in duplicate breath alcohol measurement.

Robust estimation of models of Engel curves

Both standard and robust methods are used here to estimate models of Engel curves for three household commodities, namely, food, transport, and tobacco and alcohol in Canada. The income elasticities of demand computed from the various methods differ significantly for the transport and tobacco-alcohol consumption where there are obvious outliers and zero expenditures problem. Robust estimators point to lower income elasticities and have better performance than the standard LS and Tobit estimator. These results are analyzed in the light of the information on finite-sample performance obtained in a previous Monte Carlo study.

Book: Review/Commentary: Northern Spirits: A Social History of Alcohol in Canada

Northern Spirits: A Social History of Alcohol in Canada, 2nd edition, by Reginald G. Smart and Alan C. Ogborne (Toronto: Addiction Research Foundation/Center for Addiction and Mental Health, 1996), 262 pp., $24.95 CAD (paper only). Reginald G. Smart and Alan C. Ogborne have updated Northern Spirits, their short and useful overview of alcohol use, control and treatment in Canada, first published in 1986. In a thoughtful, coherent introduction, Robin Room sets out the major themes of the study: that throughout Canadian history, drinkers and those around them have struggled with preventing or controlling [the social and health] costs associated with drink. Following Prohibition, Canadian federal and provincial governments attempted to reduce alcohol-related problems through (i) the criminal law and regulations to enforce situational prohibitions-e.g., drunk driving; (ii) provision of treatment for alcoholism and related problems; and (iii) an alcohol control system-the Canadian model-- using a high price structure, provincial monopoly of wholesaling and retailing, and a strict licensing system for restaurants, bars and other drinking establishments. (pp. xii-xiii) Northern Spirits synthesizes a great deal of the literature in a readable, albeit staccato, style. The first three chapters provide a historical overview that covers the high points but is occasionally patchy-the chapter on pioneer drinking, for example, focuses too much on Upper Canada when there is material available on the Maritimes and Quebec. An interesting subsection on pre-Confederation lumbering and railway camps, which established dry belts often ignored by bootleggers, finds resonance in later (usually failed) attempts at local option and prohibition on native reserves. Some of the comments concerning ethnic groups' support of temperance are rather ludicrous. Why would it be surprising that the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), an outgrowth of evangelical Protestantism, found few if any members among Catholics and Jews? (p. 20) A more interesting point would have been the spread of temperance values to parallel religious societies. Furthermore, the work of the WCTU was not always positive. The failure to entice Eastern European immigrants is blamed upon unsuitable materials and speakers, but surely stronger language could be used concerning the nativist and racist views and writings of many of its members. (p. 34) Similarly, the last photograph from 1916, labeled simply Carrying a keg home during Prohibition-1916 Toronto, cries out for further analysis, particularly since the store from which the drinker apparently emerged displays a large sign in Yiddish. The anti-Semitic nature of this photograph speaks well to the racist overtones of much of the movement, an issue that should have been addressed. The section on anti-temperance, primarily derived from Barron's work, is interesting, and offers an area for further study. …

Demand for domestic and imported alcohol in Canada

(1987). Demand for domestic and imported alcohol in Canada. Applied Economics: Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 531-540.

Denaturd alcohol in Canada

Denaturd alcohol in Canada