The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is sounding alarms about the availability and the use of alcohol.
The Health Unit points to the increased availability in Ontario – grocery stores, convenience stores, highway gas stations, along with a new “Bring Your Own” policy. The increased availability normalizes alcohol and the use of it, despite it being a harmful product.
Further the SMDHU says as alcohol becomes more present in daily life, it becomes more accepted, influencing people’s decisions and dulling awareness of the risks.
In Simcoe Muskoka, each year, alcohol use is responsible for about 7,600 emergency department visits, 840 hospitalizations and 275 deaths. That means one in every 20 deaths in the region is caused by alcohol, whether its cancer, heart disease, or impaired related death.