The Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia - Another Damning Health Report Highlights Need to Change our ‘Drinking Culture’

Another Damning Health Report Highlights Need to Change our ‘Drinking Culture’ – 23 September 2009

The alarming rise in alcohol-related hospitalisations supports the raft of recommendations made in recent Government Healthcare Reform Reports highlighting the urgent need to change the ingrained alcohol culture in Australia, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA), Mr David Templeman said today. “The latest research data from the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) shows that alcohol-related hospitalisations increased by over 30 per cent to 813 072 over a 10-year period,” Mr Templeman said. “During the same period, some 32 696 Australians aged 15 and over died as a result of risky or high risk alcohol consumption.”

This report comes on top of a recent study by the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA) into the Prevention of alcohol-related harm in the workplace which found that 47.8 per cent of workers drank at levels associated with risk of harm at least occasionally, and 11 per cent did so frequently.

“Six per cent of the workforce surveyed reported attending work at least once in the past 12 months while still under the influence of alcohol, with 9.3 per cent admitting to drinking alcohol at work,” Mr Templeman said. “Such damning statistical information affirms ADCA’s advocacy over the past two years during which time the Government has firmly placed alcohol reform on the national agenda. The total cost of alcohol-related harm is $15.3 billion a year which includes $5.6 billion in lost productivity in our 11million-strong workforce.”

Mr Templeman said that as the national peak body representing the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sector, ADCA was currently liaising with strategic stakeholders to assess and provide comment on recommendations in the National Healthcare and Hospitals Reform Commission Report, the Primary Health Care Strategy, and the Preventative Health Taskforce Report.

“This consolidated paper aims to draw together a considered national approach to develop appropriate policy reform with regard to responsible service of alcohol, licensing reforms, health information labelling, taxation and pricing, advertising, and community awareness campaigns for consideration and possible implementation by Government,” Mr Templeman said.

“And while the NDRI and NCETA research provides vital evidence to substantiate arguments that the alcohol culture must change, there have also been strident calls for help not only from communities across the country, but also from our law enforcement, health and workplace sectors.”

Mr Templeman stressed that Australia needs to address its blasé attitude to excessive consumption alcohol, and acknowledge the Alcohol is a drug TOO! – a drug that each week kills more than 60 people, and hospitalises another 1500.

Media Enquiries: Brian Flanagan, Manager, Strategic Communications and Policy Phone 02 6215 9802 or 0400 860 058

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