A new alcohol campaign aimed at educating young people about the risks associated with alcohol is gaining momentum since its launch recently.
The campaign which costs $300,000 was launched by the Mental Health Minister, Helen Morton outside the Royal Perth Hospital emergency department and is also being backed by Dr Fiona Wood, Perth based burns surgeon and former Australian of the Year.
The backing of Dr. Wood is significant because as a burns surgeon she has seen first-hand how devastating the effects of alcohol can be when it is abused and people make the wrong choices.
An article on News.com.au quoted Dr. Wood as saying,
“When I was asked to join and put my shoulder to the wheel for this (campaign) I said I see this, I see young lives changed so often,” she said.
“I think if only. If only someone has thought, ‘actually do we need to do this?’ If only someone had thought as parents let’s ring each other and stand as a united front. If only someone has thought to stand back from that barbecue. To stand back from that aerosol can.
“Then those lives that I see changed in an instant would be happy lives without scarring, that would have the opportunity to reach their potential.”
The Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey 2011 indicated that the number of students in Western Australia who are drinking at dangerous levels has risen in every age group.
The survey also indicated that more than 28 per cent of students were getting alcohol mostly from the parents and 26 per cent were getting from friends.
One of the reasons why medical professionals such as Dr Wood were so supportive of the campaign was because of the increasing number of young people who were showing up at Princess Margaret Hospital with injuries related to alcohol.
Dr Wood went on to explain:
“We see really quite more severe burns often … as a combination of being in a more hazardous environment with your capacity to protect yourself being impaired,” she said.
“I think young children choosing not to drink is something to be encouraged.
“And adding that understanding to people that if they do choose to drink it’s not just that drink, that night. It’s the flow on effects from that situation.”
The campaign is not only meant to educate young people, but their parents as well about the impacts of alcohol on these youths. Students and their parents need to understand the importance of making the right decisions when it comes to alcohol.
Helen Morton went on to explain about the campaign:
“I’m sure that the police will have their usual road blocks etc but the area that I’m most focused on is making sure that we give parents really good, factual information around the impact of alcohol on young people – young people’s developing brains and young people’s developing bodies,” she said.
As Morton explained, parents that are educated and provided with the necessary information will make better choices which will benefit their children and young people and hopefully reduce much of the harm being done by alcohol among this age group.