Alcohol lobbyists are not scientists

Re: "Canadians deserve sound scientific information on responsible alcohol consumption," (The Hill Times, July 3) by Mark Hicken. By Dr. Catherine Paradis, Dr. Peter Butt, Dr. Kevin Shield, Dr. Mark Asbridge, Dr. Tim Naimi, Dr. Nancy Poole, Dr. Kara Thompson, Dr. Tim Stockwell, Dr. Samantha Wells & Dr. Matthew Young On June 28, at the World Health Organization (WHO) Forum on Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours, WHO-Europe presented Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health as a good example of how to communicate the relationship between alcohol and health. On July 3, Mark Hicken, a wine industry consultant, published an article in The Hill Times criticizing those guidelines. Every single paragraph of his article contained misinformation. In January, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released Canada’s new alcohol guidance, Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health, which replaced the outdated Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines from 2011. The project was mandated and funded by Health Canada and was initiated by then-Health Minister Patty Hajdu. When determining the risks of alcohol, the guidance considered all alcohol-caused conditions, including cancers, heart diseases, liver disease and others. The relative risk of developing an alcohol-associated condition was determined based on the amount of alcohol consumed. Absolute thresholds, which measures the risk of an event happening, created points that defined our low, moderate, and increasingly high zones which help people living in Canada put the risks of alcohol consumption into perspective. Dr. Catherine Paradis, left, and Dr. Peter Butt co-chaired the development of Canada's Guidance on Alcohol and Health. Photographs courtesy of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction Clearly, Hicken does not understand some basic scientific principles. What he calls “cherry-picking” is actually the gold standard method used to evaluate scientific research and identify the most accurate systematic reviews. The methodology used to develop the guidance is also used by the WHO, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and most public health organizations around the world. It is used by the world’s leading peer-reviewed academic journals. The final 16 systematic reviews used to develop the guidance actually represent data from 363 studies and 10 million participants. The selection process was peer-reviewed and is being published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, a renowned scientific journal. By selecting the highest quality systematic reviews, we guaranteed that all the studies included in the report’s results accounted for key confounding variables, including diet, obesity, smoking, exercise, and family history. The methodology is designed to consider psychological and social benefits, as well. Despite Hicken’s claim, those effects are not well-documented. Not a single high-quality systematic review on this topic was found. CCSA’s public consultation, which provided the opportunity for industry submissions, also failed to identify credible studies. The guidance is not exclusively about cardiovascular health. It’s about health. People cannot direct alcohol to the organ of their choice, and the scientific evidence is clear: less is better. The fact that alcohol comes with risks to the heart is common knowledge among the world’s foremost experts on heart health, including the World Heart Federation, which has members from more than 200 heart foundations, scientific societies, and patient organizations in more than 100 countries. The Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ) updated its alcohol webpage to include the guidance’s main recommendation: that people consider drinking less. The page also announces that INSPQ will be updating its own resources based on the new research. The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research (ISFAR) that Hicken refers to has a long history of receiving funding from the alcohol industry. Several of its members have financial conflicts of interest with the alcohol industry. This information is not disclosed on the ISFAR website. As an industry insider, Hicken must know about this lack of transparency. ISFAR invariably praises studies that suggest possible health benefits of moderate alcohol, while criticizing those that don’t. However, groups such as the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver, the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, and many more credible associations have made public statements supporting the guidance. Hicken is right on one count: people in Canada deserve better information, so they can make better choices about their health. This information should be provided by people who understand the science. Not a wine industry consultant. We believe people are ready to know this evidence-based information. They can make informed decisions about their own health. They would want to know that less is better. Dr. Catherine Paradis of the CCSA and Dr. Peter Butt of the College of Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan co-chaired the development of Canada's Guidance on Alcohol and Health. Additional contributors include: Dr. Kevin D. Shield, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Dr. Mark Asbridge, Dalhousie Medical School; Dr. Tim Naimi, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria; Dr. Nancy Pool, Centre of Excellence for Women's Health; Dr. Kara Thompson, St. Francis Xavier University; Dr. Tim Stockwell, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research, University of Victoria; Dr. Samantha Wells, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; and Dr. Matthew Young, Carleton University and the CCSA. The Hill Times

Alcohol lobbyists are not scientists

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Alcohol lobbyists are not scientists

At the June 28 WHO Forum on Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours, WHO-Europe presented Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health as a good example of how to communicate the link between alcohol and health.

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