Russell Callaghan. Photo: University of Northern British Columbia
Canada’s drinking-age laws have a significant effect on youth mortality, according to a study by an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry.
Russell Callaghan, who teaches in the Northern Medical Program in Prince George, found that young men who are just older than the drinking age have significant and abrupt increases in mortality, especially from injuries and motor vehicle accidents, compared with Canadian males slightly younger than the drinking age. The study was published March 17 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
The minimum legal drinking age in most of Canada is 19, except in Alberta, Manitoba, and Québec, where it is 18. Using national Canadian death data from 1980 to 2009, researchers examined the causes of deaths of individuals who died between 16 and 22 years of age. They found that immediately following the minimum legal drinking age, male deaths due to injuries rose sharply by 10 to 16 per cent, and male deaths due to motor vehicle accidents increased suddenly by 13 to 15 per cent. Increases in mortality appeared immediately following the legislated drinking age for 18-year-old females, but these jumps were relatively small.
“This evidence demonstrates that drinking-age legislation has a significant effect on reducing mortality among youth, especially young males,” Dr. Callaghan says.
According to the research, increasing the drinking age to 19 years of age in Alberta, Manitoba, and Québec would prevent seven deaths of 18-year-old men each year. Raising the drinking age to 21 years across the country would prevent 32 annual deaths of male youth 18 to 20 years of age.
“Many provinces, including British Columbia, are undertaking alcohol-policy reforms,” Dr. Callaghan says. “Our research shows that there are substantial social harms associated with youth drinking. These adverse consequences need to be carefully considered when we develop new provincial alcohol policies.”
Dr. Callaghan research interests include alcohol and drug policy, injection drug use and infectious disease in Northern British Columbia, and the health trajectories of individuals with alcohol- or drug-use disorders. The 128-student Northern Medical Program, based at the University of Northern British Columbia, is part of the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s distributed MD education program.