Over the past few years, an increasing number of beverages with high alcohol and sugar content sold in single-serving containers have made their way into the Canadian market, raising the concerns of public health experts across the country. On 1 March 2018, Athéna Gervais, a 14-year-old girl, was found in a stream behind her high school in Laval, Quebec after having reportedly consumed a 568 mL can of a beverage containing 11.9% alcohol or the equivalent of four standard drinks in one serving.[1] The death of Athéna Gervais highlighted the very serious potential dangers posed by these drinks. The high sugar content and flavouring ingredients in these beverages mask their strong alcohol content, while the single-serving containers encourage their rapid consumption. The rapid consumption of beverages with a high alcohol content can lead to acute alcohol poisoning and even death.[2]

Alarmed by the tragic of death of Ms. Gervais, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (“the Committee”) adopted a motion on 19 March 2018 agreeing to study the matter.[3] Over the course of two meetings held on 30 April and 9 May 2018, the Committee heard from Health Canada officials, public health experts, physicians, toxicology experts and industry representatives. These witnesses identified ways of reducing the health and safety risks posed by highly sweetened pre-mixed alcoholic beverages, including limiting their alcohol content to one standard serving per container; addressing taxation and pricing incentives; introducing labelling requirements for alcoholic beverages; and placing new restrictions on the marketing of these products. Witnesses also explained to the Committee that the popularity of these products highlights a worrying trend towards an increasing number of young Canadians being hospitalized for acute alcohol poisoning.[4] The Committee heard that the most recent data suggests that deaths resulting from alcohol poisoning in Canada increased by 37% between 2007 and 2014.[5]

The Committee agrees with witnesses that better regulation of these products would address their health and safety risks as well as prevent new and similar products from entering the market in the future.  It has therefore recommended that restrictions be placed on the alcohol, sugar and caffeine content of these beverages. It also recommends that the labelling, packaging, marketing and branding of alcoholic beverages that are targeted to youth be prohibited through stronger regulations. Finally, it also recommends an increase in federal excise taxes on  highly sweetened pre-mixed alcoholic beverages to reduce their economic availability, along with the consideration of establishing a national minimum price for alcohol per standard serving. Given the increasing harms, both in terms of hospitalization rates and deaths attributed to alcohol abuse and poisoning among Canadians, particularly youth, the Committee believes that it is necessary to re‑examine more broadly current approaches for the regulation of alcohol in Canada.