More Canadians hospitalized for alcohol than heart attacks last year: study

CARBC Director Tim Stockwell was an expert advisor on a new report out of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) that found that alcohol use led to more hospitalizations than heart attacks in Canada last year. 

The report finds that stronger government control over where and how alcohol is sold is associated with lower alcohol consumption and, in turn, the number of hospitalizations due to alcohol consumption.

“People aren’t aware of the cumulative effect over a number of years — it’s not as dramatic as somebody having a heroin overdose or an opioid drug overdose, but the deaths (from alcohol) in Canada are two or three times greater each year than opioid drugs. It’s just not as apparent and obvious.”

- Tim Stockwell

The study has received national news coverage:

Listen to Tim's interview on CBC national radio program, The Current, with host Anna Maria Tremonti

Watch Tim's interview with Global News