For the many health organisations that want reform on the most damaging drug in Australia it is a long slow haul. Ice and other illegal drugs may grab the headlines for their extreme affects but when it comes to the sheer frequency of nightmares unleashed in emergency departments or on the roads or just the slow corrosive affects on health for a large proportion of the population, nothing exceeds the excesses of alcohol. But the same health bodies face a dual wall of opposition that makes their plaintive calls for reform and even the best research fall on deaf ears
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On one hand is an inheritance of an Anglo-Celtic culture which encourages the very thing that causes the lion’s share of the damage; the binge drinking culture. On the other a billion dollar industry deeply opposed to external controls that might curb its market share or impose additional taxes to an already inscrutable tax regime. Yet another factor where health organisations struggle for traction is education though compulsory advertising. So far there is minimal in alcohol labelling and it might be argued it has had a minimal effect.
But the Cancer Council argues education is a key factor for the public in knowing just how much is too much, largely because there is a general ignorance of the damage or overestimating the amount of alcohol that’s safe to consume without significantly increasing risk of long or short term harm. Their new research found that alcohol harm reduction advertisements that provide education about low-risk drinking guidelines could be a key strategy to helping people reduce their alcohol consumption.
A 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey found that 32 per cent of males and nine per cent of females thought they could drink three or more drinks every day without putting their health at risk, when in reality the guidelines state that more than two standard drinks a day can increase the risk of cancer and other long-term health problems.
The council is keen to highlight the negatives of excess drinking such as 3200 cases of cancer every year because they estimate almost one in five people currently drink at levels that put themselves at risk of long-term harm over their lifetime.
But research shows something as straightforward as ads linking long-term harm and safe drinking guidelines could make a significant improvement in people’s knowledge and associated behaviour. Not an impossible step on the long road to reform.
