Event Details

Alcohol use is a preventable cause of cancer and a major contributor to health and economic burden in Canada. This PHO Rounds brings together findings from two complementary lines of evidence: a modelling study of alcohol policy impacts on cancer incidence and mortality, and the Canadian Substance Use Costs and Harms (CSUCH) study, which quantifies the broader economic costs of substance use in Canada. The policy modelling study, published in The Lancet Public Health, examined how alcohol warning labels and minimum unit pricing could reduce alcohol-attributable cancer outcomes. The CSUCH study places these harms in a wider societal context, including the publicly-funded impact on health care, lost productivity, and criminal justice. Together, these studies show that alcohol control is not only a cancer prevention strategy, but also an important opportunity to reduce preventable costs and improve population health.

Intended Audience:
Public health physicians, primary care physicians, Medical Officers of Health (MOHs)/Associate Medical Officers of Health (AMOHs), researchers, policy makers.

By the end of this event, participants will be able to:

• Describe the causal relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer risk, including the major alcohol-attributable cancer sites.
• Recognize alcohol use as a modifiable cancer risk factor and contributor to health care, productivity, and societal costs in Canada.
• Interpret evidence on how alcohol policies, including minimum unit pricing and warning labels, may reduce alcohol-attributable cancer incidence and mortality in Canada.
• Identify opportunities for physicians to support cancer prevention through patient communication, risk counselling, and advocacy for evidence-based alcohol policy.

Dr. Adam Sherk, PhD is Senior Scientist with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction and Adjunct Associate Professor with the School of Public Health and Social Policy, University of Victoria. His research focuses on alcohol epidemiology, public health policy, and measuring alcohol-caused harms in Canada and internationally. He has led and contributed to studies on alcohol consumption, pricing, cancer risk, mortality, and the efficacy of alcohol policy. Adam collaborates with academic, government, and public health partners to better understand how alcohol affects population health and how policy can reduce preventable harms.

The opinions expressed by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies or views of Public Health Ontario, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by Public Health Ontario.

Public Health Ontario Rounds are a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).

Other colleges, including the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, may accept RCPSC accredited events on a per-hour basis. Please contact your relevant college should you have any questions.

In order to receive written documentation for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, please check "Yes" beside the question "Do you require CME credits?" on the registration form.

For more information or for a record of registration for other Continuing Education purposes, please contact capacitybuilding@oahpp.ca.

Public Health Ontario is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact 647-260-7100 or capacitybuilding@oahpp.ca.