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Faculty of Graduate Studies

Sybil Goulet-Stock

  • BSc (McGill University, 2014)

  • BSc Honours (Mount Allison University, 2018)

  • MSc (University of Victoria, 2022)

Notice of the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Topic

Harm Reduction Approaches to Alcohol Use in Canada: From Alcohol Labelling Policies to Cannabis Substitution

Department of Psychology

Date & location

  • Wednesday, August 12, 2026

  • 9:00 A.M.

  • Health and Wellness Building

  • Room 220

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

  • Dr. Tim Stockwell, Department of Psychology, University of Victoria (Supervisor)

  • Dr. Erica Woodin, Department of Psychology, UVic (Member)

  • Dr. Bernie Pauly, School of Nursing, UVic (Outside Member) 

External Examiner

  • Dr. Gillian Shorter, Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Belfast 

Chair of Oral Examination

  • Dr. Laura Parisi, Department of Gender Studies, UVic 

Abstract

Alcohol is a leading cause of preventable harm in Canada and globally, yet alcohol related risks are often weakly communicated through consumer-facing policy. This dissertation examines how alcohol-related harms are communicated, understood, and addressed across policy, public knowledge, and harm reduction service contexts in Canada. Across four manuscripts, the dissertation considers alcohol alongside cannabis and tobacco to examine whether policy environments reflect comparative substance-related harms, and whether cannabis may have a role as a harm reduction strategy for people experiencing severe alcohol-related harms. 

Manuscript 1 compared labelling requirements for alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis across World Health Organization Member States and examined implications for alcohol labelling policy in Canada. Findings showed that alcohol warning label requirements remain limited globally and in Canada, particularly when compared with tobacco and cannabis, despite alcohol’s substantial health, social, and economic burden. Manuscript 2 examined Canadian knowledge and beliefs of alcohol- and cannabis-related cancer harms. Findings indicated that many Canadians remain unaware or uncertain of alcohol-related cancer risks, while endorsement of cannabis-related cancer harm was comparatively high despite less conclusive evidence linking cannabis to cancer. Together, these manuscripts suggest that alcohol-related harms are under communicated relative to their burden. 

Manuscripts 3 and 4 shifted from population-level risk communication to service-level harm reduction among people experiencing severe alcohol-related harms. Manuscript 3 evaluated the introduction of cannabis substitution within a Canadian Managed Alcohol Program and found evidence that cannabis use was associated with reduced alcohol use. Manuscript 4 examined individual-level cannabis substitution patterns and their associations with harms, health, and wellbeing. Findings suggested that greater cannabis substitution was associated with lower alcohol- and cannabis-related harms, reduced hazardous alcohol use, improved physical and social wellbeing, and reductions in alcohol-related violence, although quantitative associations were not statistically significant and should be understood alongside qualitative findings. 

Together, these manuscripts show that reducing alcohol-related harm requires both stronger population-level communication about alcohol’s risks and more responsive harm reduction services for people whose needs are not adequately addressed by population-level policy alone. Cannabis played two roles in this dissertation: as a comparator that revealed inconsistencies in how legal psychoactive substances are regulated and communicated, and as a potential harm reduction tool within Managed Alcohol Program settings. Overall, this dissertation highlights the importance of informed choice, comparative risk communication, and person-centred harm reduction in addressing alcohol-related harms in Canada.

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