New alcohol pricing research upholds the call for minimum pricing and confirms that changes to price policy can reduce alcohol-related harm in Canada.
Written by Gerald Thomas, Senior Research and Policy Analyst with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), the alcohol pricing series examines drinking trends in Canada, the retail environment, and existing price policies in six provinces. It endorses the price policy recommendations first proposed in the 2007 report, Reducing Alcohol-Related Harm in Canada: Toward a Culture of Moderation, which provides the framework for Canada’s national alcohol strategy.
“Addressing alcohol-related harm in Canada requires a targeted approach aimed at the regular heavy and high-risk drinkers, as well as a population-wide approach to address the large number of people who sometimes drink in risky ways,” explained Mr. Thomas.
Research has shown that price policies can reduce alcohol consumption and correspondingly the likelihood of injuries, violence, cancers and even death.
One of the reports’ key recommendations is for the provinces and territories to consistently implement minimum alcohol pricing to remove inexpensive sources of alcohol from the market. While some provinces have had minimum pricing in place for decades, implementation of this policy is not consistent across Canada. > > > > Read More
