Alcohol is widely available and consumed in Canada. The use of alcohol comes with health and social costs, as well as economic costs such as the cost of alcohol-related accidents. In addition, there is growing evidence indicating close links between alcohol consumption and mental health problems, as well as chronic illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
This section includes alcohol related policy interventions and health promotion strategies.
Key links
CAMH resources
- Privatization of Alcohol (PDF)
CAMH, the Ontario Public Health Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving sent a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty expressing concern about the proposed privatization of alcohol sales. The letter encourages the government to give full consideration to the health and social impacts of such a move.
- Presentation to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Reducing Alcohol-Related Deaths on Canada’s Roads, February 2008 (PDF)
CAMH supports the Government of Canada in its efforts to prevent deaths and injuries resulting from alcohol-impaired driving. Among many recommendations, this submission proposes reducing the legal blood alcohol limit to 50 mg%, introducing random breath testing, and increasing the effective use of ignition interlock devices.
- Alcohol and Cancer Best Advice, March 2007 (PDF)
This paper provides five recommendations to reduce mortality and morbidity rates from cancer and other harms resulting from alcohol use. These include putting alcohol on the agenda of chronic disease and cancer prevention, building more effective links with mainstream cancer organizations, promoting effective interventions, developing effective information and dissemination strategies, and promoting and monitoring research and prevention planning.
- Retail Alcohol Monopolies and Regulation: Preserving the Public Interest Position Paper, January 2004 (PDF)
This CAMH position paper asserts that retail alcohol monopolies with a strong regulatory agenda have a key role in preventing alcohol-related harm, and therefore should be maintained.
- Reducing the Harms of Alcohol Related Collisions Position Statement, July 2002 (PDF)
CAMH believes that the reduction of deaths and injuries from drunk driving must be a public health priority. Based on scientific evidence, CAMH supports a number of measures to address the problem of drinking and driving, such as lowering the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) from 80 mg% to 50 mg%, mandating server training programs, and installing ignition interlock devices on the vehicles of convicted impaired drivers.
- Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines
A team of medical and social researchers from the University of Toronto and CAMH developed Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines for people of legal drinking age.
- Avoidable Cost of Alcohol Abuse in Canada 2002, March 2008 (PDF)
Alcohol causes a considerable health and criminal burden on Canadian society. This study suggests that the implementation of proven, effective population-based interventions would reduce alcohol-attributable burden and its costs in Canada to a considerable degree.
For more CAMH public policy documents, please visit www.camh.net/Public_policy.