Will new guidelines reduce drinking? Doctor hopeful, alcohol buyers and sellers doubtful

New Brunswickers have had a week to swallow new guidelines from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction on low-risk alcohol use and they're going down smoother for some than others.

It's a good thing to let people know that a low number of drinks is the threshold for causing problems, said Saint John family doctor Mike Simon.

According to the new guidelines, if a person wants to keep the health risks low, they should limit their consumption to two drinks a week or fewer.

"You don't want to nickel and dime this," said Simon. A drink is one beer or 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor.

Simon thinks the new guidelines may make his job a little easier by convincing heavy drinkers they should cut down, and helping people stay healthy longer.

"At least now they'll be cognizant," he said, and people can compare their personal consumption to the recommendations.

WATCH | What do New Brunswickers think of the new alcohol guidelines?

"It will be good information for some people who have concerns about certain diseases," said Lloyd Chambers, president of the Craft Alcohol Producers of New Brunswick and owner of Black Galley Distilling in Hanwell.

"But I think for the most part people will read it and move on with their own life choices.

"It's good that everyone educates themselves and makes their own choices. Everyone can drink what they want, right? In moderation."

Chambers said the new guidelines won't change anything for him.

He said he usually has "a couple" of drinks a week and "a bit more" in summer or when he takes part in tasting events.

He hopes the new guidelines aren't used to persuade the government to implement tighter regulations for his industry.

It's already "tightly" regulated, he said.

"The last thing we need is more restrictions."

Graystone Brewing taproom manager Chase Cernivz expects warning labels on alcoholic beverages are inevitable.

"It's the same thing that happened with cigarettes," he said, adding that the negative health effects of alcohol have been known "for a long time."

Cernivz doesn't expect the new guidelines will have much effect on business, however. And he knows he doesn't plan to change his own consumption of five to 10 drinks a week.

"It's an individual decision," he said.

Outside an N.B. Liquor store, Simon Gaudreau expressed similar sentiments.

"You can't eat meat anymore, you can't smoke anything, so we're just going to stand there and breathe? You've got to do something, man. You just live once."

And he'd rather not see warning labels on bottles.

"Especially when you buy some good scotch whisky. Marketing's important. It looks neat. If they put some broken stomach or anything like that on it, it's going to be disgusting."

'It should be on there'

Dr. Simon, on the other hand, thinks warning labels are a good idea.

"I think people should be aware of all of the risks of what they're taking or ingesting.

"So, if we have definite proof — which we do — that alcohol can cause these medical effects, yes, it should be on there."

Many people don't know alcohol is a toxic substance, he said.

"That's why it causes cancer," he said," from your mouth to your intestines.

"That's why it affects your blood vessels. That's why it can push you towards a stroke," and is also known to cause heart disease and brain damage, he said.

"It affects learning. It affects memory problems. It can cause dementia. Younger people: school performance."

The more you drink and the longer you drink, the more you'll be prone to get these diseases and have a shorter or compromised life, Simon said.

But it affects everyone differently, he said, depending on things like body mass and how effective their liver works.

And Simon has no illusions about everyone quitting drinking altogether.

"Moderation. That's what we're going for here," he said.

That's for most people, at least.

Asking for help when needed

Simon also sees patients who aren't able to drink moderately and come to him for help quitting.

Sometimes they come on their own, he said, because they have an uncontrollable urge to drink, or have experienced a crisis at home or work related to alcohol.

Other times they come with friends or family who notice there's a problem and that things are going downhill.

After a frank discussion, he said, they work together on a plan to deal with it.

The patient has to be fully on board, said Simon, because sneaking off to have a drink or a "weekender" just doesn't work.

It's a gradual process, said Simon, that includes counselling and maybe medications.

Medical help is essential, he said, if a person has been drinking heavily for a long time and experiences acute withdrawal when they stop.

A condition known as delirium tremens — or DTs — involves agitation, aggression, confusion, trembling, sweating, nausea, vomiting and delusions.

'You can survive and you can do well'

Another key to success, according to Simon, is a good support network.

That can be family and friends, but it can also be a group such as AA, which he described as "a fantastic organization that's done wonders."

"I have a great appreciation for the work that they do with sponsorships, with regular meetings, numerous meetings, different parts of town."

Simon said he enjoys seeing people have success quitting, and some of the damage caused by alcohol can be reversed.

"Their head gets clear and suddenly, they have a life."

"They can't run the marathon.… but you can survive and you can do well."

He said many patients have come back years later to thank him.

Simon also has patients in his practice who can't or don't want to stop drinking.

He treats them for their other issues as best he can.

"Alcohol will eventually get them. It's just too strong a toxin. Too much abuse will cause something to fail, whether it's a heart attack or liver cancer. I mean I've just seen it too often."

And he applies persistent prodding.

"You never know that one time you hit that sweet spot and they are agreeable to make a change. That one time you get somebody is really quite rewarding."