Lower Coast purveyors of alcohol served a clientele that purchased 50 per cent more product than the average British Columbian in 2022.
Lower Sunshine Coast per capita alcohol sales volumes averaged 15 litres per person over the age of 15 in 2022, according to statistics gathered by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH). Province-wide that figure was 10 litres. Average per-person booze purchases throughout the entire VCH area was nine litres.
VCH’s data tracks 20 years of liquor purchases. Those numbers indicated the annual amount of liquor purchased by individuals on the Coast increased faster than in other B.C. locales. It went from the 13 litres per person in 2002 to a high of 16 in 2021. Over the same period, the increase for other B.C. areas averaged in the range of a single litre.
Those counts come from a Population & Public Health Update prepared by VCH Medical Health Officer Dr. Moliehi Khaketla. In November 2023, that document was reviewed by the health authority’s Sunshine Coast Local Governance Liaison group. It was also received at the Jan. 25 Sunshine Coast Regional Hospital District (SCRHD) Board meeting.
The report's contents were not discussed at the board meeting. SCRHD chair and Gibsons mayor Silas White commented that the document contained "lots of good information" on trends relating to local public health matters.
Coasters average 17 drinks a week
VCH’s reporting stated that based on 2022’s sales data, Coast residents 15 years and older are consuming an average of 17 servings of distilled or fermented beverages per week. The weekly average for those in that age group within VCH's jurisdiction was nine and province-wide the average was 10. A serving is defined as 12 ounces of beer or ready-to-drink preparations like coolers or ciders with five per cent alcohol by volume; five ounces of wine containing 12 per cent alcohol; or 1.5 ounces of 40 per cent spirits (whisky, vodka, gin etc).
The statistics indicate the average British Columbian of drinking age is consuming booze at a level that puts their health in danger. Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health released last January, identifies that consuming seven or more alcohol-based drinks per week puts people at increasingly higher risk of heart disease, stroke and other serious health-related impacts. It also warns that each drink in excess of that rate "radically increases" the chances of experiencing health problems.
According to that source, putting two or less of those intoxicating beverages to your lips is a consumption level that will result in a "low level risk" of negative health consequences. The national guidelines point out that abstaining from alcohol use “has benefits, such as better health and better sleep."
Khakelta’s report summary, included on the SCRHD meeting agenda, cited local alcohol consumption levels as a matter of "high" concern, as “alcohol use is associated with various health conditions, including cancer and heart disease – which are among the leading causes of death for Sunshine Coast residents."
