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  • 9000 Hospitality Jobs to Fill in Brisbane

    If you’ve been considering a career or even just a job in the hospitality industry in Brisbane, there’s no better time than now to make your move.

    It has been predicted that around 9000 new hospitality jobs will be created in Brisbane over the coming years to 2020 and the industry even fears a staffing crisis.

    As we know a shortage of workers in a particular industry means that not only are opportunities abundant but for the right talent, also lucrative.

    If you want to take advantage of this boom in the industry, you should consider completing Responsible Service of Alcohol training first, here’s why.

    Anyone who works in the hospitality industry, in a licensed venue needs to complete the training, whether you’re a waitron, bar manager, sommerlier or bouncer.

    Also having the training already completed will make you more attractive to potential employers.To find out more about the training click here.

    Read about Brisbane’s hospitality staff shortage at https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/queensland-faces-hospitality-staff-crisis-with-9000-jobs-to-fill-by-2020-20180519-p4zgaa.html

  • Responsible Service of Alcohol : Don’t Serve Minors

    Youth are abusing alcohol more and more. In this video we see why we must refuse alcohol to minors and ask for an ID if someone looks young.

    Binge drinking has become a particularly big problem for all drinkers not just minors, which is another issue discussed in the video that we as alcohol servers must be mindful of.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMQddOpSm2o

     

  • Important Alcohol Facts You Should Know

    Once someone has made the decision to work in the hospitality industry, serving alcohol and have completed the mandatory Responsible Service of Alcohol course, it is important that they learn the facts about drinking and how to answer a customers questions.

    Some of the following facts you may already know, but if you don’t they should prove useful in helping you be a better barmen/waitron etc.

    • Is all alcohol safe for human consumption? No. Alcohol that people can drink is called ethyl or ethanol alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol or Rubbing alcohol is not for drinking
    • How long will the alcohol stay in my system? It all depends on how much alcohol you consumed and how fast; it also depends on some other factors like weight and sex.
    • What exactly do they mean by “Proof”? Alcohol proof is the amount of alcohol in the liquor or liqueur. It is twice the percentage of alcohol by volume. Example: 80-proof means 40% alcohol by volume, 100-proof is 50%, 151-proof is 75.5%, etc.
    • Can I get more drunk by mixing drinks? No. The alcohol in the drinks makes you drunk not the different kinds.
    • Will drinking a lot of coffee or taking a really cold shower help me sober up quickly? No, they won’t. The only thing that can help you sober up is “time.” Coffee and a cold shower might help you stay awake, but they won’t help you sober up.
    • Does eating a lot of food before drinking help keep me from getting drunk? Eating before drinking slows down the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream. You will get drunk, but it will take a little bit longer.

    Drinkers should always be encouraged to eat and to pace themselves. They should also be encouraged to drink water and stay hydrated because alcohol actually dehydrates you.

    Also keep in mind that alcohol can be a poison.  If you drink too much too fast, it can kill you. Please encourage customers to drink with moderation and responsibly. 

    Other Things to keep in mind:

    1. Carbonated mixed drinks get people drunk faster than non-carbonated.
    2. Mixing different kinds of drinks doesn’t get a person more drunk. The amount of alcohol does.
    3. Coffee and a cold shower won’t help anyone sober up.
    4. The only thing that can help you/ your patrons sober up is “time” but avoid binge drinking anyway.
    5. Never drink and drive or allow customers to do so. 
    6. Always refuse alcohol service to unduly intoxicated or underage patrons.

    Complete your Responsible Service of Alcohol before beginning work in a licensed venue. Find out 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.

  • Young Women Warned to avoid developing Alcoholic Liver Disease

    According to Australian specialists young women between the ages of 20 and 29 are increasingly being treated for advanced liver disease as a result of steady and dangerous drinking since their teenage years.

    Doctors have warned that even professional women are becoming the victims of liver disease and having to be hospitalised for alcoholic cirrhosis.

    According to figures obtained from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the number of hospital admissions from alcoholic liver disease almost doubled in the 15 years to 2009. The number increased from 2976 to almost 6000 during this time period.

    The following excerpt from an article which appeared on Smh.com.au explains further:

    ”We are used to alcoholic liver disease in middle-aged men but scarily we are seeing a significant number of women in their 20s and 30s in this situation,” Simone Strasser, a liver specialist and spokeswoman for the Gastroenterological Society of Australia, said.

    ”These are young professional women aged 25 to 35 who are functioning in other areas of their lives but are drinking at consistently risky levels,” Associate Professor Strasser said. ”They have busy lifestyles and think it’s not doing them any harm.”

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/alcoholic-liver-disease-on-the-increase-in-young-women-20140210-32cs7.html#ixzz2ttYJCGUT

    The post went on to quote an addiction medicine professor, Paul Haber from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital who said that the increase in alcoholic liver disease, both early and late stage was evidence that young people, particularly women are extending their “adolescent lifestyles” into their twenties. He went on to state:

    ”It’s an urban disease and a disease of affluence,” said Professor Haber, who is leading a clinical trial of the muscle-relaxing drug baclofen to treat alcoholic liver disease. ”Young people have more money and are less encumbered than they were 30 years ago.”

    http://www.smh.com.au/national/alcoholic-liver-disease-on-the-increase-in-young-women-20140210-32cs7.html#ixzz2ttYJCGUT

    Women seem to be especially susceptible to the toxic effects of alcohol because of their weight which is generally lower than their male counterparts and also because they have fewer enzymes to break down alcohol when compared to men.

    One of the trial’s co-researchers Kirsten Morley also said that women in their thirties were becoming susceptible to the disease particularly those who work in high volume, fast paced, traditionally “male” environments where in the past drinking on a daily basis is the norm. Morley went on to explain:

    ”Women often get caught up in what is socially acceptable. They might be drinking to help anxiety or as a social lubricant.

    ”Because people have the perception this is something that happens to old men, there is a stigma attached, which has prevented patients from seeking treatment.”

    http://www.smh.com.au/national/alcoholic-liver-disease-on-the-increase-in-young-women-20140210-32cs7.html#ixzz2ttYJCGUT

    According to Morley most people she saw during the trial consumed at least 6 standard drinks a day, with 4 or more being classified as “heavy” drinking. These people had generally engaged in this drinking behaviour for more than 10 years, making them susceptible to the disease.

    This is yet another reason why Responsible Service of Alcohol is an important requirement for anyone who works in the hospitality industry serving alcohol at a licenced venue. When serving alcohol, RSA staff such as waitrons, bartenders etc. should keep in mind the consequences associated with excessive consumption and consider the role they play in ensuring people do not abuse alcohol.

     

  • Neknomination Extreme Measures

    Some people are taking the Neknominations to the extreme, even coming up with a way of turning it into something positive whereas others are just using it to get publicity and promote irresponsible behaviour as one British student recently proved.

    The video below shows the British student Rebecca Dagley stripping down to lingerie in a grocery store. The young woman walks in wearing just high heels and a trench coat, then removes the coat, strips down to lingerie and downs a can of lager as her friends look on and cheer.

    Rebecca Dagley’s video went viral proving that it doesn’t take much to get the attention of the online masses. The 19 year old student is filmed entering a supermarket in central England wearing a trench coat and high heels. As she reaches one aisle, she strips to reveal she is just wearing stockings, suspenders and purple lingerie and begins to drink a can of lager. The video was filmed by her friends and she is encouraged by them as other shocked shoppers observe. Her friends shout “Go on Becca! That’s it girl”.

    After drinking, as is the custom with the Neknominations, she tells three friends to take the challenge.

    Neknominations have swept the online world having originated in Oz. It involves someone downing a drink in an extreme manner and then nominating others to do something similar within 24 hours. It has been criticised for promoting irresponsible, binge drinking. The craze has even been linked to the deaths of 2 young men in Ireland where it has also become popular.

    Alcohol campaigners are afraid that people will try to outdo each other and come up with more crazy and extreme drinking acts which could be dangerous. An example is a man who drank a cocktail of cider, eggs, battery fluid and 3 goldfish.

    Watch the video here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XzdykwAEkk0

     

  • Warning not to Drink Excessively

    Many people associate the holidays with drinking and doing so in excess but it is also the time of year when the most road accidents, violent assaults and alcohol related hospital admissions take place so drinkers need to drink responsibly and moderately to avoid becoming another statistic.

    Now as the festive season is in full swing, there has been a call from Tasmania’s Alcohol and Drug Service Clinical Director, Dr Adrian Reynolds to rethink the advertising of alcohol. He says that hospital staff and families are the ones who suffer and are left picking up the pieces when people’s excessive drinking leads to serious injuries.

    The doctor also stated:

    “Advertising and promotion is of concern,” Dr Reynolds said.

    “I think we need to do something about that and we do have evidence of other things to reduce access, reducing closing times for example.”

    Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-22/the-cost-of-excessive-festive-cheer/5171382

    Dr Reynolds has urged the community to think about what is shaping this dangerous drinking behaviour.

    Sadly the doctor is not alone in his concern as doctors around the country have warned that beds are being taken up by alcohol patients which is disrupting the treatment of other patients with “real” medical issues.

    In Victoria around 30,000 people are hospitalised a year due to alcohol and related implications. According to data compiled by the organisation Turning Point, most of those hospitalised are due to excessive alcohol consumption. It seems as though the number of people being hospitalised each year because of alcohol is growing steadily.

    This issue has reminded me about the importance of Responsible Service of Alcohol because so many of these alcohol fuelled incidents causing people to be admitted into hospital are due to people going out to entertainment districts and getting drunk. As RSA staff we should never be turning a blind eye to the implications of our actions.

    Not only is getting unduly intoxicated a risk to the public but the intoxicated person themselves are more at risk of becoming the victim of a violent attack, as statistics have proven.

    Licensees are the ones most responsible for the behaviour that happens in their venues and their first priority is to ensure that everyone employed to work in the venue, regardless of position are in possession of an RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) certificate. Management, security staff, waitrons, bartenders and anyone working at the venue must complete RSA training and keep their proof of doing so on the premises.

    But completing the course is only one part of it, management and staff of licensed venues must ensure that they are enforcing the principles taught by the RSA training, particularly those pertaining to underage drinkers and unduly intoxicated patrons.

     

     

  • National Research Shows Aussies want Alcohol out of Sport

    According to a national research study released by The Salvation Army recently, most Australians want alcohol out of sporting events. In other words most Aussies would prefer not to see alcohol advertising during sporting events but would rather have it phased out of sport completely.

    The Salvation Army commissioned the Roy Morgan run survey of 1001 Australians which revealed that almost all believe that alcohol and sport are too closely linked in Oz at the moment.

    The research was commissioned as part of Alcohol Awareness Week in November. The Salvation Army sees harmful affects of alcohol on the community through their counselling services and programs and according to them this survey proves that the community shares the same concerns.

    Illwarra sporting, academics and charity representatives have welcomed the research findings that prove that at least 67 per cent of those surveyed felt that alcohol advertising needed to be phased out like tobacco advertising was in the past.

    The following excerpt from TheHerald.com.au explains further:

    Sixty-seven per cent of those surveyed felt that, just like tobacco advertising was phased out, it was time to phase out alcohol sponsorship of sport.

    And 70 per cent of people said that the amount of alcohol advertising people under 25 saw encouraged them to drink more.

    University of Wollongong academic Professor Sandra Jones said the findings of the national survey mirrored that of research undertaken by the university, and other institutions.

    ‘‘We know from good solid evidence from longitudinal studies over a number of years that the more young people are exposed to alcohol advertising, the earlier they start drinking, the more they drink and the more alcohol-related harm they experience,’’ Prof Jones said.

    ‘‘Having so much alcohol advertising during televised sport is a big contributor to young people taking up drinking and drinking at harmful levels in Australia.’’

    Source: http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1853637/aussies-want-alcohol-ads-out-of-sport-study/?cs=2452

    The post goes on to express the view of Professor Jones, The director of the Centre for Health Initiatives who believes that alcohol advertising is not restricted to television, with the promotion brands, liquor outlets and clubs occuring through sports sponsorship as well.

    She explained that alcohol is being too closely associated with alcohol which is sending a clear message to young people that drinking and sport do go together. It is implied that if you watch sports, you drink alcohol and if you participate in sports you will drink alcohol and that if you are a sporting fanatic, your will drink alcohol.

    She says that as tobacco advertising in sport was banned sending the message that tobacco and sports do not go hand in hand, the banning of alcohol advertising and promotion in sport should have a similar effect.

    The post then went on to quote the chairman of Football South Coast, Eddy de Gabriele who was also pleased with the research findings,

    Football South Coast chairman Eddy de Gabriele also welcomed the survey.

    ‘‘Why is it that tobacco advertising was banned, but not alcohol – they are both drugs,’’ he said.

    ‘‘It’s a good thing to follow sport, but if it’s tied in with alcohol advertising, then it sends the wrong message that drinking alcohol must be a good thing too.

    ‘‘We have got 18,000 players from five years old all the way up to our league teams, and we needed to send a consistent message to our players of all ages that we don’t promote alcohol or smoking through sponsorship of any kind.’’

    Source: http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1853637/aussies-want-alcohol-ads-out-of-sport-study/?cs=2452

     

     

     

     

  • British Study Claims Alcohol more dangerous than Heroine

    A controversial new study originating in the UK claims that alcohol is more dangerous than heroine and causes more harm.

    Alcohol is even more harmful than heroin and crack according to the study published in the British medical journal, The Lancet.

    The experts involved in the study examined a variety of social, physical and psychological problems that associated with drugs and alcohol and the results showed that alcohol caused the most harm to others. Illicit drugs such as heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine are the most harmful to individual users.

    The study took into consideration twenty drugs and scored them on 16 criteria, including the harms drugs do to the user and the harms they do to others. The drugs were each given a score out of 100 points and alcohol proved to be the most dangerous with 72 points out of 100. Heroine came in second with 55 points and crack cocaine came in third with 54 points.

    According to the study cocaine and tobacco are equally harmful and the least harmful drugs are LSD and ecstasy.

    The report was made more controversial by the fact that it’s co-author was Professor David Nutt who last year claimed that riding a horse was more dangerous than taking ecstasy.

    There are millions of people who have alcohol problems, in the UK and Oz but because alcohol is legal and easy to access, most people don’t realise that it can lead to addiction when abused and can affect their health and safety. One addiction experts explains:

    But because alcohol is legal and easy to access, many people don’t think it is a problem for them, says addiction expert Dr. Jeffrey Parsons, chair of the psychology department at Hunter College.

    “It is legal and socially sanctioned, so it does not carry the same stigma and issues that illegal drugs do,”he says. “But the negative health consequences of alcohol are even greater than with many illegal drugs.”

    Drinkers tend to equate “legal” with “safe,” but that’s not necessarily the case, says Lebanon Valley College psychology professor Lou Manza. “In the general public’s mind, because you can go and buy alcohol in the store, it is okay,”he said.

    Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/alcohol-harmful-heroin-crack-study-article-1.455003#ixzz2sr8GmRT8

    Experts explain that the one major difference between alcohol and illicit drugs is that there is a “safe level” for most people when it comes to alcohol but even one hit of an illicit drug can be dangerous. Men shouldn’t have more 2 drinks daily and women should stick to one a day if they wish to avoid harm, but keep in mind that you shouldn’t drink every day. The following excerpt explains:

    “It’s not the same with nicotine,” Levounis says. “We have not been able to find a low threshold under which smoking cigarettes is safe. There’s no such thing.”

    Alcohol dependence tends to be masked more often than dependence upon other drugs, Parsons says. “With alcohol, someone can feel like a law abiding citizen despite the fact that they’re abusing a drug,” he told The News.

    Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/alcohol-harmful-heroin-crack-study-article-1.455003#ixzz2sr8GmRT8

     

  • Liquor Stores Association says No Link between Outlet Density and rate of Domestic Violence

    According to the Liquor Stores Association of NSW (LSA NSW) the claims by anti-alcohol advocates that the density of alcohol outlets is contributing to crimes like domestic abuse are false.

    The LSA NSW lashed out after the NSW Greens MP John Kaye recently made what they described as unsubstantiated claims that the number of bottle shops correlates to more domestic violence. The LSA said this statement is incorrect and unfounded.

    According to the LSA NSW, the recent Report on the Statutory Review of the NSW Liquor Act 2007 proved that alcohol related domestic assaults were dropping despite the number of liquor licences increasing. The following excerpt from TheShout.com.au explains:

    Without quoting any evidence, NSW Greens MP John Kaye this week said that “increasing the number of bottle shops correlates to more domestic violence”, an argument that LSA NSW has labelled “just plain wrong”.

    “According to the November 2013 Report on the Statutory Review of the (NSW) Liquor Act 2007, the facts are that alcohol-related domestic assaults fell 12 per cent between 2008 and 2012, while the number of NSW Packaged Liquor Licences increased by 30.5 per cent in the same period,” the association said.

    Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2014/01/10/article/No-link-between-outlet-density-and-domestic-violence-Bottleshops/DOCFXLXEIP.html

    The statistics do seem to support the LSA NSW’s claims. According to the latest ABS data, the number of packaged liquor licensed in NSW has increased over the last half a decade and there was an overall drop in the total volume of pure alcohol sold for the second year in a row. During the same time per capita consumption also dropped. According to LSA NSW CEO Terry Mott the per capita consumption dropped by 5.4 per cent since 2008.

    The organisation went on to state:

    “No-one can disagree that it is a tragedy when any person (young or old) is killed or injured by the mindless actions of someone out on a night intending to inflict harm on others – however jumping to emotional and simplistic responses may not be the answer,” LSA NSW said.

    Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2014/01/10/article/No-link-between-outlet-density-and-domestic-violence-Bottleshops/DOCFXLXEIP.html

    The LSA NSW suggested sustained education programs to directly engage the community particularly those groups that are under high risk. This will over time result in the modification of people’s behaviours which will alter the problematic drinking culture. One of the problems that seem to be engrained in or culture is that people drink with the intention of getting drunk. The only way to tackle this is with a sustained effort aimed at educating the community, the LSA claims. The post goes on to explain:

    The association said that effective and sustained education programs to directly engage the community, especially those groups vulnerable to high risk drinking behaviours with the specific intent of modifying people’s behaviour over time, will help to create a cultural change for the healthy enjoyment of alcohol as opposed to ‘drinking to get drunk’.

    “This needs to also be complimented with a targeted Policing approach to enforce current legislation with those individuals who do go out with the intent of inflicting harm on others and also sentencing by the courts for those convicted in these cases, which is seen as appropriate by the community,” it said.

    Source: http://www.theshout.com.au/2014/01/10/article/No-link-between-outlet-density-and-domestic-violence-Bottleshops/DOCFXLXEIP.html