Health Canada introduced new regulations that require individual cigarettes to carry labels warning about associated health risks to smoking.
Each warning will vary, but will address the health concerns stemming from smoking tobacco in both official languages. The regulations hope to reduce the amount of Canadian deaths by tobacco, which kills approximately 48,000 people in the country each year.
“This bold step will make health warning messages virtually unavoidable, and together with updated graphic images displayed on the package, will provide a real and startling reminder of the health consequences of smoking,” said Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions in a statement.
The move is the latest federal measure intended to reduce tobacco use in Canada to less than five per cent as part of Canada’s Tobacco Strategy (CTS). The Liberal government committed $66 million annually beginning in 2018 towards the initiative.
But the alcohol industry, which saw $26.1 billion worth of product sales between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, hasn’t been subject to the same level of health scrutiny by governmental policies.
James Wilt, author of Drinking Up the Revolution: How to Smash Big Alcohol and Reclaim Working-Class Joy, sees a noticeable difference in how the government approaches health risks associated with tobacco compared to alcohol.
“I don’t want to say that there are necessarily equivalent health risks,” Wilt said. “But in comparison, I would say the way that alcohol has been regulated is incredibly weak.”
Earlier this year, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction released a report that warned more than two drinks a week constitute a moderate health risk, primarily due to links between alcohol and cancer. The new guidelines had little effect on the drinking habits of most Canadians, according to an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News.
The report found that alcohol use is a risk factor for at least seven types of cancers, and that 40 per cent of Canadians drink more than six drinks a week, well above the recommended two drinks a week. The new guidelines reflected updated research on the health risks of drinking, which hadn’t been assessed since 2011.
Wilt said the pushback to the updated guidelines are reflective of a societal attitude towards drinking.
“People have sort of built lifestyles and ways of experiencing social enjoyment and pleasure and these sorts of things around a certain commodity. And then when you get told by the state that, that there’s actually risks that come with that, that are not fully disclosed, that it can be very shocking,” Wilt said.
“But at the end of the day, this is about risk reduction and harm reduction. The same way that we think of like COVID. Wear a mask, have air filters, like these sorts of things, they will reduce, they won’t necessarily prevent, but you know, there’s meaningful steps that we can take to do this.”
In fact, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, record numbers of Canadians have died in alcohol-related deaths. In 2019, there were 3,200 deaths recorded, that number shot up to 3,790 in 2020, and 3,875 in 2021. This significant increase affected younger Canadians far more.
The situation is further complicated by the direct involvement of governments on multiple levels in the sale of alcohol. In a move that hopes to boost profits for these corporations, premiers in Manitoba and Ontario have made moves to further privatize the industry, and push sales into more private business.
Wilt said that, in regards to “big alcohol” companies like Diageo, Heinekin, and Anheuser-Busch InBev, governments should focus on restricting their influence.
“It’s ultimately like a very cohesive block of large producers that align themselves through national continental and international lobby groups to really fight incredibly hard for certain concessions.”
As for applying similar health measures to alcohol, Wilt said the new cigarette regulations offer a point for public health to refer to that would advance solutions in alcohol consumption.
“I think what it’s doing is sort of exposing the contradictions between the two industries. And I think it really in a way sets a precedent for what should exist in alcohol as well,” Wilt said. “As any public health researchers or advocates will argue, health warnings and plain packaging are not the silver bullet.”
Wilt proposes a completely revamped societal approach to alcohol consumption. He said providing alternatives to alcohol at social events, adding health labels to containers and researching alcohol alternatives with less associated cancer risks are all avenues to pursue.
“I think the [lessons] to learn from these examples is to focus on what can and should be done in terms of alcohol regulation, and then just to continue to push for real alternatives that are decommodified and that genuinely benefit communities.”
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
