MUSKOKA, ON-The health unit has released statistics about the dangers of drinking.
On December 30th, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) released information detailing how much drinking is costing the people of Ontario.
In an interview with the MyMuskokaNow.com newsroom, Madiha Magsi a Public Health Nurse talked about how the statistics were collected from 2015 and have only increased going into 2020.
Since 2015, there has been an increase in the number of retailers selling alcohol by 16 percent. “This 16 has been growing and the cause is smaller stores are now selling alcohol including farmers markets and small LCBO stores,” said Magsi.
According to Magsi one in three Ontarians experience harm due to someone else’s drinking. “What this shows is that drunk driving has an impact in many people’s lives, either a relative was the one behind the wheel or someone they know was injured in a drunk driving incident,” said Magsi.
Magsi continued by saying that since 2015 there have been 43,086 ER visits that were alcohol-related. She identified that here in Muskoka, the cause for this is “chronic diseases that are caused by alcohol which include mental health issues, pancreatitis, cardiac issues, cirrhosis of the liver and also several types of cancer including breast, stomach, liver and pancreas.”
She elaborated by saying that one drink a day can increase a person’s risk of developing cancer and that people should be drinking in moderation.
Magsi said that since 2015, there has been a steady increase of 66 hospitalizations per day that are caused by alcohol. “While we do not know how much that has increased, we know that the number has been going up,” said Magsi.
The SMDHU did, however, identify that there are approximately 60 deaths and 600 hospitalizations in the Simcoe Muskoka area every year that are attributed to alcohol consumption.
Magsi ended by saying that alcohol is costing the people of Ontario $5.3 billion per year. This is broken down into care given to those who suffer from addiction or need special help and criminal costs. “We can reduce this only if people become more knowledgeable and by showing restraint when drinking,” said Magsi.