Courtney Evelyn, a recent graduate of the Social Service Worker program at St. Lawrence College Cornwall campus, is seeking change in alcohol legislation. On January 12, she launched a petition to add warning labels about side effects and proper consumption to alcohol containers.
So far, she has gathered over 7,250 signatures.
“It should be illegal to sell alcohol without warning about possible dangers associated for more than pregnant women. Alcohol and alcoholism are dangerous,” Courtney told Seaway News, “I think its a violation of our rights to sell us a product without properly informing us about what this product is going to do to us, short term, or long term.”
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) released a report this month titled Canada’s Guidance on Alcohol and Health: Final Report. While previous guidance recommended no more than 15 drinks for men and 10 drinks for women per week, the new report states that any more than two drinks per week is risky.
Many Canadians don’t know that alcohol is considered a Group 1 carcinogenic, something that has experts concerned and pushing for change. Research shows alcohol consumption is a risk factor for at least seven types of cancer, heart disease, and stroke.
This week, Courtney started to contact politicians and government organizations including Justin Trudeau, Doug Ford, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission to gain support for her petition on Change.org. She says she was inspired to act after seeing firsthand the dangers of alcohol misuse in our community.
“I just think its crazy that it hasn’t happened already because people have been trying to push for this and its not going anywhere. Its not just a provincial or national issue, it’s a global issue,” she said, referring a recent story about Air India’s new alcohol policy, among others.
See her petition at: https://chng.it/gfms9VFWnY
