The pressure on the government to put cancer warning labels on alcohol containers is growing, as experts say the majority of Canadians don’t know the risks that come with consuming even moderate amounts.
The latest catalyst is Canada’s new Guidance on Alcohol and Health, which updates the 2011 Low Risk Drinking Guidelines. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), which released its final report today, points out that no amount of alcohol is safe and that consuming any more than two drinks a week is risky.
It’s a drastic shift from previous guidance, which recommended no more than 15 drinks for men and 10 drinks for women per week to reduce long-term health risks. The CCSA says the new advice reflects thousands of studies in the last decade that link even small amounts of alcohol to several types of cancer.
The new recommendations lay out a continuum of risk. Three-to-six drinks a week increases the risk of developing certain cancers, including colorectal and breast cancer, and more than seven drinks a week also increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. The danger goes up with every additional drink.
“The last time we did the guidelines, it was in 2011,” said Catherine Paradis, the interim associate director, research, for the CCSA, who co-chaired the scientific expert panel that came up with the new guidance. “In 10 years there’s definitely been significant improvements in our understanding of mortality and morbidity associated with alcohol use. We have a much better understanding of the link between alcohol and cancer.”
According to the report, many Canadians are already in risky drinking territory, with 17 per cent of Canadians consuming three-to-six drinks a week, while 40 per cent drink more than six drinks a week.
Paradis says the panel spent the last two years combing through nearly 6,000 peer-reviewed studies, including research that now confirms alcohol use as a risk factor for an increasing number of diseases including at least seven types of cancers.
But despite the evidence, most Canadians are unaware or overlook the risk, says Paradis, and many still believe there are health benefits to drinking, though she says the most recent studies show that’s not true.
Catherine Paradis, the interim associate director, research, for the CCSA, who co-chaired the scientific expert panel that came up with the new guidance on alcohol, in pictured in Ottawa in October 2022. (Ousama Farag/CBC)
‘People need to be able to count their drinks’
Based on its findings, the CCSA is now calling for health warning labels that include the cancer risk on alcohol containers, and labels that inform people of how many standard drinks are in every container.
“Standard drink labels are necessary because people need to be able to count their drinks,” said Paradis.
“Labels about the health risk will provide people with that rationale as to why they should follow the guidance.”
The CCSA’s call for health warning labels, recently echoed by the World Health Organization, is based on research led by Canada. Erin Hobin, a senior scientist with Public Health Ontario, ran one of the only real-world experiments of cancer warning labels on alcohol in Yukon in 2017. The labels were placed on alcohol containers in two government-owned liquor stores for a month.
“What we learned from that study was that the cancer warning grabbed consumer attention,” said Hobin. “They read the cancer warning very closely. They thought about that message. They talked to their neighbours and their friends about that message, so there was real deep processing of that message.”
People not only talked about the warnings, Hobin said — they drank less, too.
Erin Hobin, a senior scientist with Public Health Ontario, ran one of the only real-world experiments of cancer warning labels on alcohol in Yukon in 2017. She’s pictured in Ottawa in October 2022. (Ousama Farag/CBC)
“Exposing people to cancer warnings on alcohol containers actually is associated with a reduction, a seven per cent reduction in per capita alcohol use compared to sites that were not exposed to the alcohol warning labels,” Hobin said, adding the study found increased awareness led to more consumer support for other alcohol policies like higher pricing.
The scientists behind the Yukon cancer label study say it was cut short because the alcohol industry intervened and the Yukon government couldn’t afford a potential legal battle. CBC’s, The National reached out to the industry to ask where they stand on cancer warning labels now.
Spirits Canada, Wine Growers Canada and Beer Canada responded with statements focusing on drinking responsibly and in moderation.
Wine Growers Canada added it doesn’t believe health warning labels are “the best way to effectively educate consumers on the responsible consumption of alcohol.” But Beer Canada says it remains “open to labelling suggestions that would be demonstrably helpful to consumers… to reduce harmful drinking.”
A legal duty to inform consumers
But experts say health warning labels should already be on alcohol containers, because the industry actually has a legal duty to clearly inform consumers of any risks — especially when those risks are not well known.
“They are not just critical, they are required under the law,” said Jacob Shelley, the director of the health ethics, law and policy lab at Western University. Shelley, who has worked on alcohol policy, says the obligation for manufacturers to inform consumers of any risks associated with their products is higher when a product is ingested.
Jacob Shelley, the director of the health ethics, law and policy lab at Western University, says the alcohol industry has a legal duty to clearly inform consumers of any risks. (Jacob Shelley)
“It’s very frustrating, because there is a legal responsibility that’s not very difficult, and that the courts have actually identified, that when the product is ingested or consumed, that the duty to warn is actually increased because it poses an increased risk.”
Shelley says there’s a conflict on the alcohol industry’s side, which makes billions in profits every year, to provide cancer-warning labels.
“There’s money to be made by increasing consumption,” said Shelley.
Shelley says the normalization of alcohol in society may be contributing to a lack of political will to mandate health risk labeling, but he says government action is needed.
“We have governments regulating all sorts of products to ensure they’re safe, from baby cribs to cars, right? And so the government really ought to be more involved in requiring these types of labels, and can justify that requirement by saying that this is an obligation that manufacturers already have.”
CBC’s The National reached out to Health Canada, which partly funded the CCSA’s new drinking guidance. In an email, the agency said it recognizes “alcohol use presents a significant public health and safety issue that affects individuals and communities across Canada,” adding, “we look forward to receiving the updated guidance developed by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction and reviewing any recommendations.”
Public support may be growing. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, a survey they led in February 2022 found that eight out of 10 Canadians support adding warning labels or health messaging on alcohol containers.
Is your drinking risky? Why there’s a big push for warning labels
There’s overwhelming evidence that alcohol causes cancer, and yet most people are unaware of the risks that come with drinking even a small amount. CBC’s Ioanna Roumeliotis breaks down the latest information and the growing push for mandatory warning labels.
‘I just didn’t know’
As efforts to educate Canadians about the risk grow, the political pressure is heating up, too.
“The thing that stands out most to me is the amount of people who have said, you know, I just didn’t know, I didn’t know that alcohol was a Class 1 carcinogen,” said Lisa Marie Barron, a New Democrat MP from Nanaimo, B.C.
“If they don’t have that information, how can they best make the decisions that fit them? I had somebody tell me, you know what, I might second guess that second drink.”
Barron forwarded a motion in the House of Commons last June calling for a national warning label strategy. Drinking has been glamorized, she says, but her past work in addictions exposed her to how harmful the effects can be. Ottawa, not the industry, should dictate what Canadians know, Barron said.
“Right now it’s left to the industry to decide what Canadians should or shouldn’t know on the bottles,” Barron said, adding her bill could help move the labelling conversation forward. “I’m trying to turn that around and say it’s federal responsibility to ensure that Canadians have this information, and here’s one tool for us to be able to get that moving forward.”
And the pressure is heating up on another political front too. Senator Patrick Brazeau, a non-affiliated senator from Quebec, introduced a bill in the senate last fall proposing an amendment to the Food and Drug Act to require what he calls “honest labelling.”
Brazeau says his own experience with addiction was a devastating lesson.
“I know that alcohol causes a lot of hurt,” he said, “and this is just my way of trying to give back.”
Sen. Patrick Brazeau is pictured in Ottawa in October 2022. He introduced a bill in the senate last fall proposing an amendment to the Food and Drug Act to require what he calls ‘honest labelling.’ (Ousama Farag/CBC)
It’s up to Ottawa to lead the charge for all Canadians, Brazeau said.
“If they’re serious about following science, well here’s the science. Alcohol causes at least seven types of cancer and now it’s up to the federal government to be bold. To take a strong stance and have the moral courage to say exactly that.”
Brazeau says no matter how much opposition he faces, he’s in it for the long-haul — whether it takes months, years or even a new government.
“I know that the industry is very powerful and they have a lot of resources,” he said.
“But you know this is not a fight against the industry, it’s a fight against cancer and this is a fight that I’m willing to take on.”
TORONTO – He’s firmly among Canada’s top three-year-olds but My Boy Prince faces a stiff test Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack.
The ’24 King’s Plate runner-up will be part of a global field in the $1-million Woodbine Mile turf event. Not only will it be My Boy Prince’s first race against older competition but among the seven other starters will be such horses as Naval Power (Great Britain), Big Rock (France) and Filo Di Arianna (Brazil).
My Boy Prince will race for the first time since finishing second to filly Caitlinhergrtness in the Plate on Aug. 23.
“It’s his first try against older horses and it’s hard to say where he fits in,” said trainer Mark Casse. “This time of year running a three-year-old against older horses, it’s like running a teenager against college athletes.
“We’re doing it because we believe a mile on the turf is his preferred surface … we wanted to give him a shot at this. (American owner Gary Barber) is someone who likes to think outside the box and take calculated risks so we’re going to see where he fits in.”
Casse, 16 times Canada’s top trainer, is a Hall of Famer both here and in the U.S. He’s also a two-time Woodbine Mile winner with filly Tepin (2016) and World Approval (2017).
Sahin Civaci will again ride My Boy Prince, Canada’s top two-year-old male who has six wins and 10 money finishes (6-3-1) in 11 career starts. The horse will be one of three Casse trainees in the race with Filo Di Arianna (ridden by Sovereign Award winner Kazushi Kimura) and Win for the Money (veteran Woodbine jockey Patrick Husbands aboard).
Naval Power, a four-year-old, has finished in the money in eight of nine starts (six wins, twice second) and will race in Canada for the first time. He comes to Woodbine with second-place finishes in two Grade 1 turf races.
Big Rock, another four-year-old, makes his North American debut Saturday. The horse has five wins and five second-place finishes in 14 starts but has struggled in ’24, finishing sixth, 10th and fifth in three races.
Filo Di Arianna is a four-time graded stakes winner with nine victories, three seconds and a third from 17 starts. It was Canada’s ’22 top male sprinter and champion male turf horse.
Other starters include Playmea Tune, Niagara Skyline and Secret Reserve.
Playmea Tune, a four-year-old, is trained by Josie Carrol. The gelding has made three starts, winning twice and finishing second in the Grade 3 Bold Venture on Aug. 23.
Woodbine-based Niagara Skyline is a six-year-old with 13 money finishes (six wins, five seconds, twice third) in 24-lifetime starts. The John Charlambous trainee has reached the podium (1-1-1) in all three races this year.
Secret Reserve, also a six-year-old, has finished in the money in 15-of-26 starts (six wins, one second, eight thirds). The horse, at 44-1, was third in the Grade 2 King Edward Stakes over a mile on the E.P. Taylor turf course.
The Mile highlights a stellar card featuring six graded stakes races. Also on tap are the $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes (fillies and mares), $500,000 bet365 Summer Stakes (two-year-olds) and $500,000 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes (two-year-old fillies), all Grade 1 turf events.
The Mile, Natalma and Summer winners earn automatic entries into the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in November.
Casse has won all four races, earning his first E.P. Taylor title last year with filly Fev Rover, Canada’s horse of the year and champion female turf horse. Fev Rover will defend her title Saturday against a field that includes Moira, the ’22 King’s Plate winner and Canada’s horse of the year trained by Woodbine’s Kevin Attard.
“It (E.P. Taylor) was definitely on my bucket list because it had eluded us,” Casse said. “But I honestly hadn’t realized I’d won all four of them, hadn’t really thought about it.”
Casse will have horses in all four turf races Saturday. Arguably the most intriguing matchup will be between Moira and Fev Rover, who ran 1-2, respectively, in a photo finish Aug. 11 in the Grade 2 Beverly D. Stakes, a 1 3/16-mile turf race, at Virginia’s Colonial Downs.
“What’s funny is the two of them went all the way to Virginia and she beat us by a nose,” Casse said. “We could’ve done that at Woodbine.
“There’s two of the best fillies in the world both from Toronto and they’re going to be competing Saturday.”
Some question having so many solid races on a single card but Casse likes the strategy.
“I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “On Saturday, the main focus on horse racing in the world will be on Woodbine and that’s because it’s such a great card.
“It’s an international day, there’s horses coming from everywhere and we’re going to do our best to represent Canada.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, led the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan vote her first year on the ballot — an important part to possible selection to the hall’s next class.
The organization released the voting results Friday. American doubles team Bob and Mike Bryan finished second with Canada’s Daniel Nestor third.
The Hall of Fame said tens of thousands of fans from 120 countries cast ballots. Fan voting is one of two steps in the hall’s selection process. The second is an official group of journalists, historians, and Hall of Famers from the sport who vote on the ballot for the hall’s class of 2025.
“I am incredibly grateful to the fans all around the world who supported me during the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s fan votes,” Sharapova said in a statement. “It is a tremendous honor to be considered for the Hall of Fame, and having the fans’ support makes it all the more special.”
Sharapova became the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the world. She won Wimbledon in 2004, the U.S. Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008. She also won the French Open twice, in 2012 and 2014.
Sharapova was also part of Russia’s championship Fed Cup team in 2008 and won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.
To make the hall, candidates must receive 75% or higher on combined results of the official voting group and additional percentage from the fan vote. Sharapova will have an additional three percentage points from winning the fan vote.
The Bryans, who won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, will have two additional percentage points and Nestor, who won eight Grand Slam doubles titles, will get one extra percentage point.
The hall’s next class will be announced late next month.
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines has struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to offer satellite-based Starlink WiFi service on flights within the next several years.
The airline said Friday the service will be free to passengers.
United said it will begin testing the service early next year and begin offering it on some flights by later in 2025.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The announcement comes as airlines rush to offer more amenities as a way to stand out when passengers pick a carrier for a trip. United’s goal is to make sitting on a plane pretty much like being on the ground when it comes to browsing the internet, streaming entertainment and playing games.
“Everything you can do on the ground, you’ll soon be able to do on board a United plane at 35,000 feet, just about anywhere in the world,” CEO Scott Kirby said in announcing the deal.
The airline says Starlink will allow passengers to get internet access even over oceans and polar regions where traditional cell or Wi-Fi signals may be weak or missing.
