Health
New Data on Alcohol Consumption
Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
September 2, 2022 – Canadian Health experts are reversing previously long held beliefs about how much alcohol is dangerous and it has implications for the Caribbean as well, especially women.
From upending a bottle of dragon stout into our carrot and pumpkin juices, or a little red wine on top of Christmas cake, straight to multiple drinks at a local ‘rum bar’, Caribbean people are no strangers to alcohol.
But the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction is pushing for a change in Canada’s laws after filing a report that says, no amount of alcohol is “safe” for consumption, dispelling the myths of the ‘healthy’ amounts of the substance.
More than two to three glasses of alcohol per week is increasingly risky and comes with detrimental health effects,
The report lists alcohol, l which is a carcinogen, as having a hand in causing 7 cancers, heart disease, and increased risk of intimate partner violence.
The Pan American Health Organization said according to their Regional Status Report on Alcohol and Health in The Americas in 2020, two out of five drinkers engage in a drinking pattern that is considered to be particularly harmful to health, and rates of heavy episodic drinking increased in the region by 12%.
In addition, the region had some of the highest rates of alcohol use disorders and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the world.
The average amount of drinks for adults in the Caribbean was 6.8 litres compared to 9.7 in North America.
For women, the cancer risk is higher than it is in men the report says, the risk of breast cancer increased with more alcohol.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women in the Americas.
The takeaways? Alcohol is a carcinogen just like cigarettes and other dangerous substances, but it’s use has been normalized. Residents must now assess their own alcohol use and its health risks, and make appropriate adjustments.