This presentation will examine trends in alcohol consumption, heavy episodic drinking and alcohol harms in Canada, with a focus on differences by age, sex and gender and socioeconomic status. It will introduce the alcohol harm paradox, and potential mechanisms driving social determinants of alcohol harms. The presentation will also review alcohol policy options for reducing population-level consumption, harms and inequities.
Dr. Brendan Smith is a Scientist at Public Health Ontario and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. He completed a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Toronto and a MSc in Epidemiology at McGill University.
Dr. Smith’s primary research interests focus on the application of epidemiological methods to estimate the health equity impacts of population health interventions. Most recently, his work has focused on estimating the effectiveness of population-level alcohol policies to reduce social inequities in alcohol use and harm.