Alcohol costs P.E.I. more than it brings in, new provincial strategy says

Prince Edward Island recently released a new provincial alcohol strategy aimed at reducing illness and harms linked to drinking, and experts say it puts the province ahead of much of the country.

The strategy sets out 16 recommendations to improve public health, enhance community safety and ease pressure on the health-care system.

“We have learned more over the last number of years, what we understand about the risks associated with alcohol. It’s changed, and so I think it means that we do need to act,” said P.E.I.’s chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison.

The plan comes in response to stark numbers.

According to the strategy, about 76 per cent of Islanders aged 15 and older report drinking alcohol over the past year. One in three of those drink at levels considered high risk for serious health problems, including at least seven types of cancer, heart disease and liver disease.

“People tend to know that if you’re smoking cigarettes, it increases your risk of lung cancer. We don’t always make that association with alcohol,” she said.

“Any amount of reduction in how much you drink will have benefit, no matter how much you’re drinking.”

Alcohol is also a major driver of injury and death. In 2020, it was linked to an estimated 135 deaths and nearly 7,000 emergency department visits and hospitalizations in the province.

Those harms carry a heavy price tag. Direct alcohol-related costs are estimated at over $131 million a year, far exceeding revenue from alcohol sales and leaving roughly a $61‑million deficit for the province. P.E.I. also has the highest police-reported impaired driving rate of any province. 

‘A feather in P.E.I.’s cap’

The strategy is drawing praise from Dr. Tim Naimi, a physician and alcohol epidemiologist who directs the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at B.C.’s University of Victoria.

He says P.E.I. is one of only a handful of provinces or territories that have developed a comprehensive alcohol strategy.

“I think this is definitely a feather in P.E.I.’s cap,” he said.

After reviewing the strategy, Naimi said one of its biggest strengths is its focus on pricing policies.

One of the strategy’s priorities is rethinking how alcohol is priced and sold.

P.E.I. already sets a minimum price for alcohol sold in liquor stores, called Social Reference Pricing — essentially a floor price meant to discourage cheap, high-volume drinking.

Right now that minimum is not tied to alcohol content or how strong a drink is, which the strategy says may incentivize consumers to purchase higher-strength products because they offer more alcohol for the same minimum price.

The strategy proposes to tie the minimum price directly to alcohol content instead, as Manitoba and Nova Scotia have already done, and adjust it yearly for inflation. 

Naimi also pointed to the strategy’s recommendation to review the number and location of liquor outlets, since research shows more outlets nearby is linked to more alcohol-related harm.

“These are all very evidence-based things and pretty reasonable,” Naimi said.

The strategy also recommends strengthening public safety and enforcement measures, expanding youth-focused prevention programs, increasing screening and early intervention for risky drinking, improving public awareness campaigns and creating a public complaints process for alcohol marketing violations.

Naimi said the bigger challenge now is turning the strategy into concrete changes.

“A hope without a plan is just a wish,” he said. 

“The hard part is how will that be operationalized? How will that be followed up? Will there be sort of regular cross-agency meetings? Will there be like feedback obtained from stakeholders? And how will that then be operationalized into, you know, policy adjustment or policy change?”

Morrison said it will take time to measure the strategy’s impact, but the province will be watching key indicators over the coming years to see whether it’s making a difference.

“I hope that Islanders have a reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. I hope that we’ll have better mental health, that we’ll have a safer community … and that we have decreased pressures and costs for our health-care system as well,” she said.