Canada: Health Canada Plans To Restrict The Alcohol Content In Popular Drinks And Are Calling Them A Public Safety Risk To Youths

Health Canada proposes plan to restrict the amount of alcohol in single-serve alcohol beverages.

Source: https://www.narcity.com/

Jasmine Girn

December 19, 2018

In recent years, we’ve noticed an increasing trend of young adults and even teenagers abusing alcohol, especially when it’s flavoured, cheap and served in a single-serve container with bright and colourful labeling.

On December 18th, Health Canada issued a release stating the growing concerns linked to flavoured purified alcoholic beverages that are served in single-serve containers with a high alcohol percentage. These products are reported to be a growing risk for “unintentional overconsumption and excessive drinking among youth”.

Specifically, Health Canada wants to impose restrictions on the alcohol content when it comes to flavoured purified alcoholic beverages that are sold in those large single-serve containers.

It was only nine months ago that a 14-year-old Montreal girl died after ingesting the popular drink, FCKD UP. It’s a large single-serve can beverage with high alcohol content mixed with caffeine, making a sort of alcoholic energy drink. Even though this drink has been banned, there are other drinks out there, made without caffeine, that are served in similar packaging with a high alcohol content that attracts young drinkers, that are often drunk excessively.

Health Canada notes that the drinks they’re referring to are high in alcohol content, but are also often flavoured and highly sweetened. When these popular drinks are overly altered in such a way, it becomes “easier” to drink and often lets to alcohol-poisoning or harmful incidents, particularly among Canadian youths.

Health Canada is proposing that the change would restrict the alcohol content in these beverages to 1.5 standard drinks which would equal out to 25.6 mL of alcohol when they are in containers of 1000 mL or less.