The Alcohol and other Drugs Council of Australia (ADCA) is calling on the Federal Government to take a holistic strategic approach to Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) that is culturally appropriate for community care and support services across Australia.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ADCA, Mr David Templeman, said the Government needed to not only make a serious commitment to changing Australia’s drinking culture, but also to registering FASD as a disability.

“ADCA has made these and a number of other very relevant recommendations in its Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs which started taking evidence yesterday in Cairns and Townsville as part of its 2012 national program of public hearings,” Mr Templeman said. “FASD is caused by foetal exposure to alcohol during its development and can occur at any stage during pregnancy, and the greater and more frequent the level of alcohol consumption, the greater the risk to the baby and the level of harm.”

Mr Templeman said that FASD was a serious public health, social and economic issue, and while prevalence in Australia was not well understood, health researchers believed that it was under diagnosed, under reported, and under estimated.

“It is preventable, with no effects seen on children of those who do not consume alcohol,” Mr Templeman said. “While early diagnosis and intervention are the most important factors in minimising the impact of FASD, the impact of FASD extends beyond the primary symptoms as children with FASD have a high risk of developing secondary difficulties particularly affecting integration with social norms.”

Mr Templeman said that all health professionals and other members of the health workforce had an important role in recognising risk factors and symptoms associated with FASD and referring clients to appropriate interventions.

“As a significant number of pregnancies are unplanned, and most pregnancies are not confirmed until sometime after conception, the developing embryo can be potentially exposed to alcohol inadvertently,” Mr Templeman said. “In Australia 48 percent of women consume alcohol during pregnancy, and this is a particular concern with the increasing trend of binge drinking amongst young women.”

Mr Templeman stressed that cultural change around the consumption of alcohol was required, and women needed support from their husbands, partners, families and the community to stop or reduce their alcohol consumption before, during and after pregnancy.

He also said that when called on to give evidence to the Committee, ADCA would also focus on:

· awareness campaigns around alcohol guidelines, and around the risk of binge drinking and consumption during pregnancy that achieve a change in attitude to consumption

· changes to policy effecting the physical and economic availability of alcohol including availability, pricing and taxation, marketing and promotion, and health warning labelling

· research and development of a FASD diagnostic tool; and

· the education of health professionals on the role they have in addressing FASD.

Media Enquiries: Brian Flanagan, Manager Strategic Communications – Phone: 02 6215 9802 (w) or 0400 860 058 (m)