Study wants your views on drinking

The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) is launching a six-week public consultation today as part of its initiative to update existing guidelines for the safe consumption of alcohol.

Canada's Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines were originally published in 2011 to help Canadians make informed decisions about drinking. Evidence on the association between drinking alcohol and physical, mental and social harms have evolved since then and the updates are intended to align the guidelines with the latest research on the risks and benefits associated with alcohol.

“The feedback gathered in this consultation will help us to learn about the experience of the public and stakeholders with the current guidelines,” Dr. Peter Butt and Dr. Catherine Paradis, co-chairs of the initiative, said in a statement.

Current guidelines suggest no more than 10 drinks per week for women and 15 for men, with no more than two or three drinks per day.

The CCSA says Canadians aged 24 or less should never exceed the daily limits.

The initiative comes as many Canadians report drinking more during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A survey from Statistics Canada indicated that roughly one-quarter of Canadians believed their consumption of alcohol had increased during the pandemic. Stress, boredom and isolation were among the top reasons cited for the increase in drinking.

Forty-one per cent of respondents who described their pandemic experience as “very” or “extremely stressful” said their alcohol consumption had increased, compared with 16 per cent for those who reported the pandemic as “a little” or “not stressful”.

Respondents who said they have “often” or “always” felt isolated during the pandemic were also likely to report drinking more (33 per cent), while only 12 per cent of those who rarely or never felt isolated reported drinking more.

Canadians will have until April 18 to share their views on the current alcohol guidelines via an online survey.

The link to the survey, which the CCSA says will take approximately 10 minutes, can be found at ccsa. limequery.com/863748? lang=en.