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Tag: alcohol consumption

  • Why is Binge Drinking so Common in Young Adults

    When serving alcohol it is important to recognise the importance of serving responsibly especially keeping in mind that young people should always be asked to prove that they are of a legal drinking age before being served alcohol.

    Young people tend to be more prone to binge drinking and the consequences that come with it. Trying to understand why young people are more prone to binge drinking is the subject of a post on New York Times website.

    In The USA people need to be 21 years or older to drink, yet young people in this country binge drink at alarming levels, particularly high school and college students.

    In Australia we have Responsible Service of Alcohol rules in place which aim to tackle this alarming behaviour by young people.

    Read more about it here.

     

  • Suburban Brisbane Pubs Apply for 3am Liquor Licence

    A number of suburban Brisbane pubs have recently applied to have their trading hours extended to 3am. Currently the venues latest trading hours are between midnight to 2:00am.

    The Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALH) on behalf of a number of its venues (Oxford 152, the Holland Park Hotel, Stones Corner Hotel, Belmont Tavern, the Australian National Hotel, Sunnybank Hotel and the Mt Gravatt Hotel), has applied to the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) to extend trading hours to 3am.

     

    Read more here.

  • Alcohol Servers – Don’t Make This Mistake

    Don’t let this happen to you. A venue owner on The Sunshine Coast has been fined $1500 for serving alcohol to an already drunk patron.

    The licensee and an employee of a hotel in Gympie pleaded guilty to supplying liquor to an intoxicated person resulting in a $1500 fine for the licensee and the employee was placed on a six-month good behaviour bond with a recognisance of $600.

    No one at the venue made an effort to stop the patron from consuming more alcohol although he was already intoxicated. That is why Responsible Service of Alcohol training is so important.

    Find out more about this incident here.

  • ABS Says Australian Alcohol Consumption at 50 Year Low

    According to The Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian drinking rates are at their lowest in 50 years.

    They revealed that there were 9.7 litres of pure alcohol available for consumption for every Australian aged 15 years and over in 2013-14 – the equivalent of 2.1 standard drinks per person per day.

    See more here.

  • ALSA Responds to Underage Service Claim

    Part of Responsible Service of Alcohol means not serving or selling alcohol to minors and asking for IDs to prove that customers are the age they say.

    Yet a professor at Curtin University claims that at least half of young people find it easy to buy alcohol. He was speaking on ABC’s Radio National.

    Professor Mike Daube said some retailers are responsible when it comes to selling alcohol to minors, but many are not. He also called for the government to act.

    ALSA has refuted these claims and says that data suggests otherwise.

    Read more about it here.

  • ACT Road Safety Laws Come in Line with Other Jurisdictions

    Soon drivers in The ACT won’t be allowed to drink while driving, bringing laws in The Territory in line with other jurisdictions in Australia.

    It sounds strange but currently Canberra drivers can consume alcohol when they are behind the wheel, providing they stay under the legal blood alcohol limit – but this is set to change.

    Read more here.

  • Developed Nations Drinking Less – Report Shows

    According to a report by  the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) drinking in developed nations has declined by 2.5 per cent over the past 2 decades.

    Despite the decline, risky drinking is on the rise which is why the report advises people to avoid excessive alcohol consumption. It also notes that drinking among the youth has also increased.

    Find out more here.

  • Indigenous Organisations call for Inquiry into Drinking

    Indigenous communities have called for an effective inquiry to be launched into alcohol abuse in their midst.

    The communities want community consultation to be included in the new federal government inquiry into alcohol consumption in Indigenous communities.

    The new parliamentary inquiry which was originally intended to delve into the issue of alcohol related violence across the country, has now been adjusted to deal with Indigenous communities in particular.

    Health groups in Indigenous communities are hoping that the inquiry will help the government develop better strategies for dealing with alcohol abuse. They are also hoping that Indigenous communities are included as part of the process.

    According to an article by Michael Kenny on Sbs.com.au, the inquiry is to be conducted by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs which is to be chaired by Liberal MP Sharman Stone. The inquiry will examine patterns of supply and demand for alcohol in these communities and the problem of alcohol fuelled violence also prevalent among Indigenous communities – as well as non-Indigenous communities across the country.

    The inquiry is also expected to examine how alcohol consumption impacts babies both unborn and newborn. Strategies of other countries in dealing with alcohol abuse will also be examined.

    The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, explained that the point of the inquiry was not to victimise Indigenous Australians, he went on to explain:

    “This is about poverty, not ethnicity. But I acknowledge that there have always been and we have never really seen a break, particularly in reports of domestic violence, defence injuries, alcohol, deaths through alcohol…. through cars….and violence.”

    Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/19/inquiry-alcohol-abuse-indigenous-communities

    The inquiry will also apparently examine socio-economic backgrounds and how they are linked to alcohol abuse. Meanwhile the opposition labour party in the NT has criticised the inquiry saying it is an insult to Indigenous Australians.

    Although the inquiry has received some criticism, some believed it could be a good way to begin tackling alcohol abuse.

    The medical officer with the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Dr John Boffa who has worked with Indigenous communities for over 2 decades says that the inquiry is “long overdue”. The article went on to explain:

    “This is a useful inquiry. Alcohol problems are obviously very prevalent in Aboriginal communities. But I think if the inquiry is done well, it’s got the potential to provide some solutions that will address alcohol misuse, not just amidst Aboriginal people but amongst the broader population as well.

    Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/19/inquiry-alcohol-abuse-indigenous-communities“

    Even the chairman of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Justin Mohamed said that the inquiry would be a valuable opportunity to examine what policy approaches are working and those that are not when it comes to alcohol abuse among Indigenous Australians.

    The article goes on to quote Mr Mohamed as saying:

    “You need to look at the community. You need to engage the community in the initiatives and the things that can work have to be owned and obviously embraced and I think once you achieve that, the more successful things that I’ve seen, heard about and read about have been ones where there’s been some real leadership from within the community and from the leaders and organisations that are obviously providing services and looking after their community interests.”

    Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/19/inquiry-alcohol-abuse-indigenous-communities

  • Financial Toll of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

    Although we often hear of the damage done by alcohol abuse to the community and people in general, we seldom consider the huge financial toll of excessive drinking and problem drinking on the economy and on individuals.

    According to a recent American based study, the toll of excessive drinking in the United States is about American $2 per drink (Aus $2.22). It may seem like a small figure but when you consider the amount of alcohol that is consumed, altogether it is a staggering amount and this is just the cost of the expenses caused as a result of drinking not including the cost of the drink itself.

    According to the study conducted by the CDC (Centres for Disease Control), the $2 is accounted for by medical expenses and other costs to society.

    The study by the CDC calculated the societal costs of binge drinking and heavy drinking, excluding what consumers actually pay at the liquor store or licenced venue.

    The study also took into consideration lost productivity at work, property damage from car crashes, expenditures for liver cirrhosis and other alcohol-associated medical problems as well as the money spent on incarceration of drunk drivers and criminals using alcohol. Although the study relates to figures in the U.S it can be compared to the cost of drinking in Oz. The following excerpt from an article on New York Daily News website I found quite informative,

    The CDC estimated excessive drinking cost society nearly $224 billion in 2006, the most recent year for which all necessary statistics were available. That worked out to about $1.90 per drink, 80 cents of which was spent by federal, state or local governments, the researchers estimated. The rest came from drinkers, their families, private health insurers, employers, crime victims and others.

    Most of that was related to binge drinking, in which four or five alcoholic beverages are consumed on one occasion.

    “Binge drinking results in binge spending,” said CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden.

    Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/toll-excessive-drinking-works-2-drink-medical-expenses-societal-costs-article-1.964157#ixzz2sr7uKTi3

    The study’s officials also noted a very important point which drinkers should keep in mind – drinking in moderation can have health benefits whereas none have been associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

    Drinkers should remember that when they drink excessively the costs involved are more than those associated with the actual cost of the bottle of wine or can of beer, there are numerous indirect costs and these costs are exaggerated when drinking is done in excess. The article on NYDailyNews.com explains further:

    CDC officials noted that while some health benefits have been associated with, say, a glass of wine each day, there are no health benefits linked to excessive drinking. They also said the new study likely represents an underestimate of the total cost.

    Smoking has been estimated to cost society about $193 billion annually. An older study estimated the cost of not exercising to be around $150 billion.

    Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/toll-excessive-drinking-works-2-drink-medical-expenses-societal-costs-article-1.964157#ixzz2sr7uKTi3

     

  • Study Disproves Theory that Alcohol leads to Depression

    According to a group of Western Australian scientists, alcohol consumption does not lead to depression as previously assumed.

    The scientists discovered that there was no truth to theory that alcohol causes people to become depressed.

    The discovery was made following a study of 3873 elderly men conducted over a period of 3 years as part of a long running men’s health study and the findings have been eye-opening especially in debunking some old myths such as the myth that drinking alcohol causes depression.

    This post from www.perthnow.com.au explains:

    A study of 3873 elderly men has shown no truth to the long-held belief alcohol causes people to become depressed, University of Western Australia school of psychiatry and clinical neurosciences professor Osvaldo Almeida said.

    The study was conducted over three years as part of the long-running Health in Men Study.

    “We found (as expected) that this particular genetic variant was associated with reduced alcohol use, but it had no association with depression whatsoever,” he said.

    Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/alcohol-and-depression-not-linked-wa-study/story-fnhocxo3-1226717903594

    The researchers came to the conclusion that alcohol doesn’t cause depression in older men. There are often people who suffer from alcoholism and the effects of these addictions may lead them to become depressed but alcohol in itself doesn’t cause depression, as we previously thought.

    Even though this study shows that alcohol consumption does not directly lead to depression in drinkers, we should not take this as an opportunity to binge drink. Any excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to severe and sometimes life-threatening consequences which is why alcohol should always be consumed in moderation and responsibly.

    Consuming moderate amounts of alcohol can positively affect your physical and mental state. Even though alcohol is widely abused, which often overshadows the good it can do, there are some benefits to drinking alcohol in moderate amounts. And now that we know that alcohol doesn’t cause depression, people abusing it does, we can recognise the importance of promoting moderate consumption, particularly if we work in the hospitality industry.

    Workers who serve and sell alcohol have a responsibility to ensure that they are not serving alcohol to unduly intoxicated patrons which only promotes excessive drinking and negative consequences such as alcoholism and depression.

    The post goes on to explain:

    “The conclusion is that alcohol use neither causes nor prevents depression in older men.  Our results also debunk the view that mild to moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of depression.”

    Prof Almeida said the association observed between alcohol and depression could be explained by other factors, but not by alcohol itself.

    “It doesn’t mean alcohol is entirely safe and people can consume it in whatever way they like.  We know that alcohol when consumed in excess does create a lot of health problems – but what we now know is that one of those problems is not depression.”

    Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/alcohol-and-depression-not-linked-wa-study/story-fnhocxo3-1226717903594