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When Australians drink like Russians, it’s time for action
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Pointing the finger elsewhere is no longer an option on alcohol policy. Doing so has been a great salve to the conscience in the past. However, hospital-based statistics released yesterday paint such a dismal picture of the increasing damage that alcohol is causing across Australia that it is time for action. At a time of increasing concern about escalating health costs, it is no longer sufficient to talk about personal responsibility. Other people’s drinking has an impact on the whole community. We are not alone: in Russia President Dmitry Medvedev is declaring a major campaign on curbing alcohol-related harm. He is alarmed at research published in the Lancet, which estimates that alcohol contributes to the deaths of more than half of all Russian men aged 15-54. However, just because there are appalling problems in other countries does not excuse inaction in our own. It has been easy in recent times to be concerned about young people’s binge drinking. The discourse fits neatly into the attitude of “why aren’t they more responsible”? By looking at them we do not have to look at ourselves. Enough of shifting the problem elsewhere — it is time to recognise the extent of alcohol-related harm in Australia and to realise the problem is increasing. On a weekly basis alcohol is killing more than 60 Australians and putting another 1500 people in hospital. The National Drug Research Institute yesterday released a report on one aspect of alcohol-related harm for people over 15 years of age, examining trends in deaths and hospitalisations for alcohol and non-alcohol attributable conditions. The single most alarming finding is that the number of Australians hospitalised due to risky drinking has risen by a third between 1996 and 2005 and there are indications that this trend is set to continue. Russia, here we come! The easy path over the past few years has been to point to binge drinking and assaults. And these are legitimate concerns. However, the NDRI report indicates a broad range of problems affecting the whole community. For example, it is striking that the most common cause of death due to risky and high-risk drinking in 2005 was alcoholic liver cirrhosis, which arises from alcohol consumption over the longer term. At least death rates across Australia have been declining. The exception is in the ACT, which is the only jurisdiction to record an increase in alcohol-attributable deaths. On hospitalisations, the message is clear for all jurisdictions — there is an increasing problem. Rates of alcohol-attributable hospitalisations have increased in all jurisdictions, especially in Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT. The largest increase was in Victoria. Australian jurisdictions can no longer turn a blind eye to what is happening. These hospital statistics illustrate that half-hearted efforts on alcohol-related policies will not stem the increasing harm. Complacency is no longer an option. This report cannot be read in isolation. The Preventative Health Taskforce has just released a comprehensive study on alcohol-related harm and has provided a blueprint for action. Recommendations include higher alcohol taxation, partial or complete bans on the advertising and promotion of alcohol, increased measures to reduce drink-driving and the use of brief interventions by primary-care physicians to reduce hazardous alcohol consumption. The taskforce has clearly identified that any increase in supply will mean an increase in harm. Any decrease in supply will mean a decrease in harm. In Australia it is time for a policy and cultural shift. It will not be achieved by the Hollowmen solution of relying solely on social marketing campaigns. Hard decisions are needed. We know what they are and our decision-makers across all jurisdictions can no longer be complacent if there is going to be any chance of stemming the tide of alcohol-related harm. Michael Moore is the CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia. He is a former ACT Health Minister, an adjunct professor in health policy at the University of Canberra and is on the board of the National Drug Research Institute. |
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13 Comments
Given the untimely death of an esteemed colleague recently, one of our greatest ever pianists, from alcoholism, and my own close brush with alcohol addiction, surely it’s time to recognize that severe restrictions (not prohibition obviously) need to be placed on this dangerous drug. As Dr Theodore Dalrymple points out in his book “Romancing Opiates” alcohol is far more lethal than heroin. We now know that the white matter (or myelin sheathing) of the brain continues to develop until AT LEAST age 30, and as this is the decision-making part of the brain, easily damaged by alcohol (and tobacco), surely we should be restricting access to alcohol (and tobacco) until this age, and also reconsidering at what age we hand out driving licenses? This information has only come to light recently, so arguments about “rights of passage” and “Australian culture” should really have no bearing anymore. Also, the carnage based on present rates of alcohol-related deaths will only rise exponentially if we are looking at the madness of increased population to 35 million by 2050.
Has there been breakthroughs in medical science relating to alcohol and tobacco? or is there just a wowser as PM so the other wowsers are coming out of the woodwork?
How long have we been told that alcohol kills brain cells? Is this new information?
Isn’t the Preventative Health Taskforce set up with the purpose of attacking obesity, alcohol and tobacco? If so why do we get another trumpeting article everytime they produce results that say what they already new but with improved bells and whistles?
Have you noticed how many full pages and even double-page spreads of the newspapers are taken up with alcohol ads at the moment ? This wasn’t the case a while back.
The above has nothing to do with climate change, of course. Or has it?
That’s “rites of passage”.
I’m doubting that this is no new research. Of a 98 page document, the references start at page 46. Nothing but experts quoting from other experts.
This study uses aetiologic fractions to estimate the number of alcoholic related disorders or admissions involved. Since the previous study (1996 ?) the average number of drinks considered risky or high risk has been revised down several times.
Does that not mean that the estimated numbers of alcohol related admissions automatically increases, not because of a real increase but because of the method of measurement changing ?
Take your wowserism and piss off.
The analogy you have tried to draw between Australia and Russia shows how lightweight your argument is.
The problems of personal responsibility are further reaching than alcohol and treating people like children is not going to make it any better.
Why don’t we get it over with and start chanting ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ while we march toward the authoritarian nanny-state everyone seems to be suggesting.
Either that or some have some truth in advertising and start calling yourself the temperance movement.
Dear Edward, it is not wowserism to become more educated about the negative effects of an addictive drug - and to restrict its use among those least able to cope with its addictive and degenerative effects. You may be luckily free of these negative tendencies, but some are genetically susceptible. The families of those killed, maimed or abused by drunks would have something to say about your attitude I’m sure. I’m in favour of legalizing all drugs as a matter of fact (like Portugal), as prohibition (or a “war on drugs”) does not work (though it creates a nice little earner for crims), but this does not mean going the other way with blanket advertising and linkages with so-called “healthy” pursuits. The truth in advertising needs to come from the alcohol industry, just as with the tobacco industry. The colleague I mentioned died at the age of 55 which I believe is around the average life expectancy of Russian males.
Wowser, “We Only Want Social Evils Remedied” - If the boot fits, and it seems it does…
“The colleague I mentioned died at the age of 55 which I believe is around the average life expectancy of Russian males” - Correlation does not imply causation.
Dear Meski,
“Wowser” in this sense seems to have been coined by John Norton, a particularly nasty piece of work. A hypocrite, an alcoholic, a wife-beater and standover man. So I’ll accept it as a compliment.
It puts you in the company of Fielding, Conroy, Nile and Harradine though. You really want company like that?
Ouch - I see your point, but you could also say Gandhi, Bertie Russell and Hitler, which is a fairly rounded non Judeo-Christian selection. Even Bob Hawke and Barry Humphries saw the wisdom in being dry.
Norman Lindsay was one of those on the other side to the wowsers, when the name was coined.
Being dry is an extreme - it’s possible to drink without being a menace to yourself or society. A minority can’t do this, but should we legislate on the basis of that? Seems we do, at least in the ACT, where the local government has banned fireworks because of an irresponsible minority.