A study published in November showed that between 2015 and 2019, heavy drinking is responsible for nearly 140,000 deaths each year in the United States. About 40 percent of these deaths had serious causes, such as car accidents. But many are caused by alcohol-related diseases, such as liver disease, cancer and heart disease.
Dr. Catherine Paradis, associate director of research at the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction, said that drinking even two drinks a week has increased the risk of seven types of cancer, including breast and colon cancer. intestines. such as heart disease.
Dr. Paradis, who co-chaired the group that developed the new guidelines, said that the World Health Organization recently stated that the harms caused by alcohol consumption “have been systematically measured over the years and are well documented” and that. “When it comes to alcohol consumption, there is no good amount that does not affect health.”
The good news, the report said, is that any reduction in alcohol consumption is beneficial. This is true even for people who do not reduce their drinking to low or moderate levels. In fact, heavy drinkers benefit greatly from reducing their drinking as much as possible, the report said.
“We have this line: Drink less, live more,” said Dr. Alexander Caudarella, director of the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction. “The idea is that reducing your alcohol intake will significantly reduce your risk.”
The new guidelines depart from the drinking requirements in some western countries.
For example, Australia recommends no more than 10 drinks a week and no more than four drinks a day. Britain recommends drinking no more than six glasses of wine or six pints of alcohol a week. Guidelines in the United States call for two or fewer drinks per day for men and one or fewer drinks per day for women.
Canadian health officials said they hope their no-nonsense approach will encourage consumers to make better choices.
