Australia's Drinking Culture
Understanding Why Opinion Really Matters...
By Brodie Lane
That we do have an ugly drinking culture in Australia and we need to face up to it:
We believe we do have an ugly drinking culture in Australia. In Victoria alone, alcohol-related harm is costing the government $4.3 billion dollars each year. This includes road accidents and health problems. The effects of excessive alcohol are not new. Also not new are the health, safety and lifestyle risks that alcohol can cause,including, saying or doing something you will regret later, accidents and injures on the streets, in cars and it even contributes towards obesity. Heavy alcohol intake not only continues to surround us, but is also slipping from our grasps. Alcohol related emergencies have tripled, hospitalisations have risen by 87 per cent and alcohol related violence has doubled. Alcohol has three main problems: the government has a lack of leadership, the health risks alcohol causes and Australians abusing alcohol.
The first problem is the lack of leadership from the government. Years have gone by and there seems to be no change. Furthermore, the governments strategies to reduce alcohol related violence are not working. They are not giving a greater insight to the problem causing the target audience to ignore it. For example, since 1998 there are now 19,000 liquor licences around Victoria, which double what it was before 1998. This is a problem the government tried to control but failed. If the federal and state governments were to work together, then maybe we would start seeing results. Also, alcohol has never been more available. Not only is there an explosion in the number of venues that serve alcohol, it can also be bought easily from supermarkets. Alcohol is now just another item you can purchase alongside your daily groceries. This needs to be seriously looked at because children under the age of eighteen are more exposed to alcohol and are more tempted to do underage drinking. This is a
By Brodie Lane
That we do have an ugly drinking culture in Australia and we need to face up to it:
We believe we do have an ugly drinking culture in Australia. In Victoria alone, alcohol-related harm is costing the government $4.3 billion dollars each year. This includes road accidents and health problems. The effects of excessive alcohol are not new. Also not new are the health, safety and lifestyle risks that alcohol can cause,including, saying or doing something you will regret later, accidents and injures on the streets, in cars and it even contributes towards obesity. Heavy alcohol intake not only continues to surround us, but is also slipping from our grasps. Alcohol related emergencies have tripled, hospitalisations have risen by 87 per cent and alcohol related violence has doubled. Alcohol has three main problems: the government has a lack of leadership, the health risks alcohol causes and Australians abusing alcohol.
The first problem is the lack of leadership from the government. Years have gone by and there seems to be no change. Furthermore, the governments strategies to reduce alcohol related violence are not working. They are not giving a greater insight to the problem causing the target audience to ignore it. For example, since 1998 there are now 19,000 liquor licences around Victoria, which double what it was before 1998. This is a problem the government tried to control but failed. If the federal and state governments were to work together, then maybe we would start seeing results. Also, alcohol has never been more available. Not only is there an explosion in the number of venues that serve alcohol, it can also be bought easily from supermarkets. Alcohol is now just another item you can purchase alongside your daily groceries. This needs to be seriously looked at because children under the age of eighteen are more exposed to alcohol and are more tempted to do underage drinking. This is a