Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice
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Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can · Jun 2020
Problematic substance use or problematic substance use policies?
This special issue on substance use issues comes at a critical time for Canadian health policy makers and researchers. Most attention is currently focussed on the opioid crisis and the potential impacts of cannabis legalization. However, our most widely used and harmful substances continue to be alcohol and nicotine. ⋯ More generally, a greater focus is needed on harm reduction strategies that are informed by the experience of marginalized people with severe substance use-related problems so as to not exacerbate health inequities. In order to better inform policy responses, we recommend innovative approaches to monitoring and surveillance that maximize the use of multiple data sources, such as those used in the Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms (CSUCH) project. Greater attention to precision in defining patterns of risky use and harms is also needed to support policies that more accurately reflect and respond to actual levels of substance use-related harm in Canadian society.
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Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can · Jun 2020
Setting the baseline: a description of cannabis poisonings at a Canadian pediatric hospital prior to the legalization of recreational cannabis.
This study describes the events and circumstances preceding children aged 16 years or younger being treated for cannabis poisoining in the emergency department (ED) of a Canadian pediatric hospital. ⋯ The characteristics of cannabis poisonings among children are described for the three-year period prior to recreational cannabis legalization in Canada in order to set a baseline for future comparisons. Implications for improving injury prevention initiatives and policies are discussed.
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Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can · Jun 2020
The alcohol deficit: Canadian government revenue and societal costs from alcohol.
This summary article compares government revenue from the sale and distribution of alcohol to the societal costs caused by alcohol use for the year 2014. Statistics Canada data reported government revenue of $10.9 billion; however, this was offset by net societal costs of $14.6 billion, as reported by Canada's national substance use surveillance system, the Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms project. The societal costs include health care, economic loss of production, criminal justice and other direct costs. Though revenue from alcohol sales has been described as a benefit to public coffers, accounting that includes costs incurred shows that all provinces and territories in Canada are running an alcohol deficit, totalling $3.7 billion nationally.