Health Impacts of Alcohol Consumption Update

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The decision

2019-04-08 · Board of Health · amended

As filed

The Board of Health: 1. In recognition of the strong and growing evidence that increasing access to alcohol is associated with health and social harms, reaffirmed its previous recommendations, including the development of a provincial alcohol strategy to mitigate alcohol-related harms in Ontario. 2. Directed that the report (March 25, 2019) from the Medical Officer of Health be forwarded to Ontario's Chief Medical Officer

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of Health, the Association of Local Public Health Agencies, the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the Ontario Public Health Association, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Ministry of the Solicitor General, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Toronto Police Service, and the Canadian Automobile Association. 3. Requested the Medical Officer of Health to report to the Board of Health at its meeting on June 10, 2019 with recommendations for the hours of sale and the availability of retail sales of alcohol in the City of Toronto.

On the agenda

As the city filed it

Alcohol consumption remains a leading risk factor for acute harms and chronic disease in Canada. Though the proportion of Ontario adults consuming alcohol has remained stable over the past two decades, the amount of alcohol consumed per person has increased significantly. In particular, average weekly consumption among women has increased by 90 percent between 1996 and 2017. Serious concerns related to this increase and to the social acceptance of alcohol consumption were raised by Canada's Chief Public Health Officer in the 2018 Report on the State of Public Health in Canada.

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An emerging issue is the increase in access to alcohol that started in 2014. Evidence has shown that increasing the availability of alcohol (for example, adding more access points, extending the hours of sale and service, or lowering purchase price) is associated with increased alcohol consumption and alcohol-related health and social harms. This report provides an update on the health impacts of alcohol consumption, describes recent changes to where and how alcohol is accessed, and presents evidence on mitigation measures. The evidence presented reaffirms previously adopted Board of Health recommendations for the Government of Ontario to proactively balance the provision of alcohol with the need to mitigate health and social harms.

Staff recommended

The Medical Officer of Health recommends that: 1. The Board of Health, in recognition of the strong and growing evidence that increasing access to alcohol is associated with health and social harms, reaffirms its previous recommendations, including the development of a provincial alcohol strategy to mitigate alcohol-related harms in Ontario. 2. The Board of Health forward this report to Ontario's Chief Medical Officer

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On the record

The item as the City filed it

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