According to a recent analysis published by CBC News and authored by Sonya Varma, alcohol is currently the leading cause of substance-related emergency room visits in Windsor-Essex, according to new data. Specifically, data published by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit shows that in 2024, more than 2,000 people were admitted to the emergency department because of alcohol. In contrast, 434 emergency room visits were linked to opioid use. Furthermore, Dr. Medhi Aloosh, the medical officer of health for the region, told CBC that the recorded data shows that the effect of alcohol is higher than all of the other substances combined.

 Dr. Aloosh also added that there is a lack of awareness that alcohol increases the risk of several cancers, and that emphasizing the association between alcohol and other harms could help prevent alcohol abuse. “Recently, studies have shown that people, majority of people who are to use alcohol do not know that is associated with physical harm, mental harm, cancers. And that’s why we need to work on that education and prevention. That’s the most important piece,” he said.

In his interview with CBC News, Patrick Kolowicz, the director of Mental Health and Addictions at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, said that anyone who thinks they may have an alcohol problem should consult a doctor.  “We associate drinking with pleasurable activities,” he said. “And so it really creates this culture where drinking is condoned and allowed. And if you don’t drink, maybe you’re looked at as unusual. And so when you have that type of culture and then you learn that actually that drinking is one of the most harmful, or is the most harmful substance use that we see within our community, it’s quite surprising.”

According to the results of a recent study, nearly 53% of adults in southern Ontario exceeded the new low-risk drinking threshold of 2 standard drinks per week under the latest Canadian guidelines. The results also showed that over four times more adults exceeded the new low-risk drinking threshold compared to that of the previous Canadian guidelines. “Additionally, more were classified as exceeding the new low-risk threshold compared to other international drinking thresholds. These results, combined with low perceptions of risk associated with consuming more than 2 drinks per week, suggest that many Canadians are at risk of exceeding the new guidelines,” concluded the authors.