You may have read media reports or heard that Canada’s LRDGs have recently changed to significantly lower limits. This is NOT correct. The LRDGs have not changed and remain the same as they were in 2011. You can see that they have not changed by visiting the Health Canada website.

The lower limits that you may have heard about are simply a set of recommendations contained in a report from an advisory group that was asked to do a review of the current LRDGs. The recommendations have not been accepted by Health Canada at this time. It is the view of CARD that this set of recommendations is flawed and should not be adopted. You can read our detailed analysis of these issues here.

Some countries, including Canada, issue “Low Risk Drinking Guidelines” (“LRDGs”) which are designed to help citizens make informed decisions about drinking and to reduce the health risks associated with consumption.

It is important to keep in mind that these are only guidelines to help you educate yourself and that each individual has different risk factors including lifestyle, diet and genetics. Only you can determine what amount of consumption, if any, is appropriate for you.

CARD recommends that you educate yourself with respect to moderate consumption and that you determine what amount of consumption, if any, is appropriate for you. If you need assistance with consumption issues for yourself or anyone else, we recommend that you speak to your doctor or consult the resources set out here.

Health Canada (federal government) publishes Canada’s Low Risk Drinking Guidelines. In the past, Health Canada has used an advisory group to provide them with recommendations. This group recently provided new recommendations which are dramatically different from the previous ones. These new recommendations have not been accepted by Health Canada at this time. It is the view of CARD that this set of recommendations is flawed and should not be adopted. You can read our detailed analysis of these issues here.

Other countries also publish Low Risk Drinking Guidelines which vary somewhat from place to place. You can read more about the guidelines from other countries here.

CARD believes that the “no safe level” statement is misleading and unhelpful since it ignores harmful consumption and instead shifts the focus on to moderate drinkers who simply want to have a glass of wine with dinner or a beer while watching the hockey game.

This “one size fits all approach” provides no useful information on individual health risks in the context of everyday life. Anyone with a serious drinking problem may tune out of the health messaging completely. This approach mirrors Prohibition-era thinking … which ended up creating the worst alcohol-related public policy mistake in history.

A further problem with the “no safe level” position is that it misrepresents the actual risks associated with alcohol in the real world. Life is full of risks which we accept every day. If we did not accept some amount of daily risk, we would have a hard time leaving the house each morning. Yet, the “no safe level” position seems to proceed on the basis that any risk or increase in risk associated with alcohol consumption is unacceptable.

Indeed, the vast majority of scientific studies (hundreds of them) have consistently shown for decades that those who consumer alcohol in moderation are, on average, either just as healthy as non-drinkers or are actually slightly healthier. Despite the claims of some groups, “the science” in this regard has not changed … and studies continue to show the same results: those who drink in moderation have the same or better life expectancy than those who do not drink at all. It is puzzling how some groups continue to ignore such evidence. You can review a compilation of some recent studies here: Recent Studies on Alcohol & Health.

CARD believes that this statement is misleading because it is too simplistic. A more accurate statement would be that “alcohol may contribute to certain types of cancer depending upon the amount consumed”.

Generally, it is difficult (and unwise) to make definitive statements about the relationship of alcohol consumption and health because there has never been a large enough high quality study with sufficient controls to enable robust conclusions (it is difficult to perform such studies). Rather, the available studies (hundreds of them) are smaller and observational in nature. They usually rely on people self-reporting information which can be unreliable and which can affect the validity of the conclusions. It’s also very difficult to monitor and control all the complicating factors related to people’s lifestyles. As such, the studies can only demonstrate correlation rather than causation (i.e. it “looks like” there may be a link between “x” and “y” rather than being able to say that “x” causes “y”).

The evidence from these studies shows correlation (links) between moderate alcohol consumption and improved cardiovascular health while also showing some increases in risk for certain types of cancer. Depending upon the individual, these potential benefits and risks could balance each other out, could provide an indicator of worse health or could provide an indicator of improved health. As a result, it is wise for each person to educate themselves and to make their own decisions about what benefits and risks they are comfortable with.

For the most part, the risks of cancer from moderate alcohol consumption are extremely low and in line with many of the other risks that we accept in day to day life.

If you are concerned about this issue we advise you to educate yourself using the resources that are located here and/or discuss the issue with your own physician.