Ever wondered which nations are the biggest drinkers? Although we may all have our own suspicions a new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found that surprisingly Canadians drink more than 50 per cent above the global average.

Although alcohol advertising and alcohol abuse may seem to be on the rise, overall people around the world are abstaining from alcohol. According to an article on www.huffingtonpost.ca Canadians are drinking as much as the rest of the world’s drinkers are refraining.

Although alcohol related problems are receiving a lot of attention, statistics show that globally people are becoming more health conscious which translates into less alcohol consumption. Canada however does not seem to be following in this trend, where figures show Canadians are drinking a lot more than other nations. This excessive drinking is becoming a serious problem for the country as the health services and society in generally are negatively impacted. This includes 200 types of diseases and injuries as well as suicides.

This article from Huffingtonpost.ca explains:

You might not be able to tell from all those beer commercials, but on a global scale, people are actually abstaining from alcohol. Even if the rest of the world isn’t downing pints, however, Canadians seem to be drinking on their behalf.

A new study by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), found Canadians drink more than 50 per cent above the global average. And it’s no time to be imbibing — alcohol is now the third leading cause of the global burden of disease and injury.

“The burden of disease and injury is measured when someone dies prematurely or before the life expectancy in a certain country,” explains Dr. Jürgen Rehm, study author and director of CAMH’s Social and Epidemiological Research Department. This is also impacted by anything that may disable a fully healthy body, for example, losing a body part or organ, he adds.

In 2010, alcohol was responsible for 5.5 per cent of the overall burden, coming in third after high blood pressure and smoking. According to Rehm and his team, these types of injuries and diseases not only include common outcomes like liver cirrhosis (poor liver function) and traffic accidents, but other related diseases like certain types of cancers.

The report also notes that alcohol consumption in 2010 was found to cause more than 200 different types of diseases and injuries — including everything from a slip or fall caused by intoxication to more fatal outcomes like suicide.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/03/04/statistics-of-alcohol_n_2806184.htmlmn

According to the World Health Organisation too few countries use effective policy options to prevent death, disease and injury from alcohol use. From 1999, when WHO (World Health Organisation) first began to report on alcohol policies, at least 34 countries have adopted some type of formal policies to reduce harmful use of alcohol. Restrictions on alcohol marketing and on drink–driving have increased, but there are no clear trends on most preventive measures. Many countries have weak alcohol policies and prevention programmes. Clearly much more needs to be done to overcome alcohol abuse around the globe but right here at home we can begin by enforcing the policies we do have, such as responsible service of alcohol laws. This can simply be done by denying alcohol to underage patrons and never serving alcohol to anyone who is unduly intoxicated, it is the first step in the global fight against alcohol abuse.