Alcohol, smoking cause tens of thousands of deaths, emergency room visits and hospitalizations annually in Ontario: report

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More than 1,000 Ottawa residents are estimated to die from smoking-related causes every year, while an average of 264 local people die as a result of alcohol consumption, according to a new report from Public Health Ontario and Ontario Health.

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The report is aimed at giving public health units regional data and policy considerations to develop and support strategies to reduce per capita alcohol consumption and smoking in the province.

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Across Ontario, more than 16,000 people die every year from causes related to smoking, according to data from 2014-2018, while an average of 4,330 deaths are attributable to alcohol use. Those include deaths from cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and respiratory illnesses related to smoking, as well as communicable disease, motor vehicle collisions, cancer, cardiovascular disease and unintentional injuries related to alcohol consumption.

The report, titled “Burden of Health Conditions Attributable to Smoking and Alcohol by Public Health Unit in Ontario,” looks at smoking and alcohol-related health impacts both provincewide and by local public health units.

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In Ottawa, alcohol consumption results in an estimated 1,267 hospitalizations every year and more than 11,000 emergency room visits. That’s in addition to an estimated 264 deaths.

“The overall burden of disease caused by smoking and alcohol use is considerable,” wrote the authors of the report. “Reducing smoking and alcohol use in Ontario has the potential to decrease the substantial burden of disease caused by these two substances.”

The message is seemingly at odds with Progressive Conservative government pitches aimed at making alcohol more easily available in the province. “Buck-a-beer,” allowing the sale of beer for one dollar per can, was one of Premier Doug Ford’s platforms in the 2018 Ontario election campaign.

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At a more local level, the report states that municipal alcohol policies and municipal bylaws “can help manage alcohol availability, which is important because physical availability of alcohol is linked to increased consumption.”

When it comes to tobacco, municipalities including Ottawa have played a key role in policies aimed at reducing consumption.

Ottawa was among the first municipalities to ban smoking in public places, in 2001.

According to the report, Ottawa has among the lowest rates of self-reported smoking in the province.

However, the number of people in Ottawa who report exceeding two drinks in the past week is higher than the provincial average.

The report notes that its list of harms attributable to alcohol is likely incomplete.

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“By reducing the prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption, there is potential to reduce the burden of disease in Ontario, keeping the people in Ontario healthier and reducing overall health-care use and costs,” the authors wrote.

The report comes at a time when new national guidelines recommend people consume no more than two drinks per week to reduce their risk of cancer, heart disease and other alcohol-related health effects.

It also comes as the province’s health system continues to be overburdened. Many hospitals are chronically operating above capacity, with patients being treated in hallways and other non-conventional spaces. Emergency department wait times have been at record levels in recent months.

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In Ottawa, according to the data, “smoking attributable outcomes” account for 16.5 per cent of deaths, 7.8 per cent of hospitalizations and 3.2 per cent of emergency department visits in an average year, for people over the age of 35.

“Alcohol attributable outcomes” account for 4.2 per cent of deaths, 2.1 per cent of hospitalizations and 3.9 per cent of emergency department visits for everyone over 15 during an average year in Ottawa, according to the report.

Across Ontario, 17 per cent of deaths are attributable to smoking and 4.3 per cent of deaths are attributable to alcohol.

In Renfrew County, smoking-related causes were linked to 19.2 per cent of deaths.

The report relied on various sources of data, including the Canadian Community Health Survey.

A link to the research can be found at: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/Documents/B/2023/burden-health-smoking-alcohol-appendix-a-etimates.pdf?rev=724bad293c5f43d68096dc917d52f58c&sc_lang=en