Ease Of Access To Alcohol Has Up Sides and Down Sides

Jeff Green | Sep 11, 2024

Verona used to be a dry town, not that long ago. But as of this week, there are 3 stores selling beer and wine, the LCBO outlet at the Foodland store that has been there for almost 20 years as well as the newly re-opened Toppers store and the Verona Convenience store.

Ontario certainly lagged behind other jurisdiction when it came to the availability of beer, wine, and spirits, until the changes that took place in January of 2020. On Road 38, for example, the Verona Foodland had been the only location between the Beer Store and LCBO outlets at Hwy 7 in Sharbot Lake and those on Midland Drive in Kingston. That all changed in 20920, when the Godfrey General Store and Gilmour’s Meats became LCBO outlets.

Now, with the addition of convenience store outlets beer and wine could available just about everywhere that sells pop, chocolate bars or gasoline if the retailers who own those stores want to sell it. The motivation for this most recent change seems to be to create a warm, fuzzy feeling about Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has put his personal stamp on making alcohol easier to access in Ontario right from the start of his provincial political career (Remember ‘a buck a beer’from his first campaign in 2016)

And the next stage in increased access to alcohol is set for the end of October, when all grocery stores will have the option to sell beer and wine if they choose to. And, in spite of concerns raised by the grocery stores over being required to take back and pay customers for empties (which convenience stores are not required to do) most, if not all, grocers will get on board within a few months,

These changes will make convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores more financially viable in Ontario, which is a benefit for everyone. The number of retail outlets for alcohol in Frontenac County will increase from 8 to as many as 22 by the end of the year, and sales will now extend from 7am – 11pm if those stores choose to remain open that late.

This might be a benefit to some, but since alcoholic beverages, of all kinds, keep well before being opened, it was never that hard to store a reasonable supply at home in the first place. In what could be a boon to local breweries, depending on how it is administered, the new rules include a provision that 20% of all beer, cider, wine and mixed drinks are sourced from “craft” producers, according to Ontario.ca, the government web site.

But it is not that likely that this will be a major boon to the Ontario craft beer industry as a whole, which has been facing difficulties in the last couple of years as its percentage of total beer sales in the province has stalled after increasing early for over a decade.

If things go the way they have in Quebec, some urban convenience stores could become niche craft beer stores, bringing in a large selection from small and larger breweries from across the province and beyond, and attracting customers who have, until now, had limited access to those products.

In rural Frontenac County, if that 20% is taken up partly by our three local breweries (K&P, then Local Brewery and the Harrowsmith Brewing Company) it would be good for their sales, but it may turn out, as is common across Quebec, that one or two of the larger ‘craft’ breweries will fill the shelves with their most popular and most generic tasting beers.

There is one other thing that can get lost in all of this. The World Health Organisation says that alcohol is “a toxic, psychoactive, and dependence-producing substance and has been classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer decades ago – this is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco.”

That is why minimum age to legally purchase alcohol remains at 19, just as it has since 1979, and retailers are required to confirm that before selling alcohol to anyone, and are also required to refuse to sell to anyone who appears inebriated.

Alcohol abuse causes road accidents, and other serious health and social problems. It is associated with domestic abuse, criminal behaviour, sickness and premature death.

Alcoholic Anonymous holds meetings in communities large and small around the world to help people who suffer from alcohol addiction.

Public Health Ontario published a study in 2023 that concluded that alcohol consumption “causes approximately 4,330 deaths, 22,009 hospitalizations and 194,692 emergency department visits” each year, and “these make up 4.3% of deaths, 2.1% of hospitalizations and 3.7% of emergency department visits from all causes in people age 15 and older.

Although alcohol is certainly not as dangerous as tobacco when used in moderation, but it has now definitively been determined that there is no minimum level of consumption that is beneficial to health.

Of course it can be enjoyed responsibly, and is an integral part of our social world cultural world and pairs really well with food. The risks associated with low levels of consumption are ones that many of us are willing to accept.

But in the rush to make it as convenient as possible to buy a can of beer or a box of wine, the downside of alcohol should not be ignored.