Alcohol causes more problems in NZ

There's more talk in the news today about the drinking culture of New Zealand. Unfortunately NZ has a problem with binge drinking. There has also been talk recently about banning these party pills because of the problems they cause. Trouble is there are far more problems with alcohol in this country yet there is no talk about banning this! I personally think alcohol should be banned altogether, but I highly doubt this would ever happen.

Here are a couple of articles today that I received from the Western Australia Community Alcohol Network (via a friend on mine over there).

‘How we’re drinking’ is now the message
by Nicola Brennan, Monday, 12 March, 2007
A CAMPAIGN targeting binge drinking among young people was never going to have a big impact when the actual problem lay with New Zealand’s adults, an environmental health conference heard on Friday.
Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC) deputy chief executive Sandra Kirby said you could not expect young people to change their drinking behaviour when every major turning point in a Kiwi’s adult life involved getting drunk.
Twenty-first birthdays, marriages and wins and losses in sport were all celebrated by getting intoxicated.
She said alcohol ranked as the fourth largest contributor to the global burden of disease in Western countries, which included the likes of New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
Four percent of New Zealand’s gross domestic product was spent on addressing problems associated with alcohol consumption.
Ms Kirby said while there was no doubt that alcohol production and manufacturing was big business in New Zealand, it came at a huge cost to the community.
While alcohol abuse had always been thought of as a health issue, she said it actually had a larger affect on other sectors ­ namely justice and industry.
Around 70 percent of crime dealt with by police was alcohol-related.
However, the biggest cost was the loss of production associated with people calling in sick due to a hangover or, worse still, turning up hung over and "stuffing up" their work.
While Kiwis drank less alcohol on average per day than other countries, ranking about 24th or 25th when it came to alcohol consumption ­ a huge binge drinking culture existed.
The majority of people drank in excess of seven drinks per session.
"If we could drop that by two drinks we could reduce the harm caused," she said.
However, she knew they had a battle on their hands as there was still the perception "that being drunk is fun".
"You are not going to take away people’s favourite pastime that easily."
However, the "It’s not the drinking, It’s how we’re drinking" campaign was starting to have an impact.
When the campaign first started, around two percent of Kiwis thought New Zealand had a problem with drinking. That figure was now up around 75 percent.
"We believe you can change New Zealand’s drinking culture," she said.
It was not about imposing other countries’ drinking culture on Kiwis, but creating a new drinking culture that was very New Zealand.

STOP BUYING KIDS BOOZE
12.03.2007 By WILL JACKSON
TIM COSTELLO has called for parents to examine their own behaviour before complaining about their children’s.
Amid increasing concern about under-age drinking on the Northern Rivers the social campaigner said that it was the parents’ responsibility to be good role models.
"People will always complain ‘my kids never do what I say’, but they always do what you do,"
Mr Costello told The Northern Star on Saturday. Mr Costello’s comments come in support of police pleas for Northern Rivers parents to take responsibility for their offspring following an increase in under-age drinking at unsupervised parties.
Tweed-Byron Superintendent Michael Kenny said he was appalled that parents were giving their under-age children large amounts of alcohol and dropping them off at parties.
Officers called to an out-of control birthday party attended by more than 300 revellers at Pottsville recently stopped three boys and girls aged 14 and 15 who had cartons of pre-mixed drinks and beer, he said.
"They said they got the alcohol from their parents to share with their friends," Supt Kenny said.
"There was that much alcohol at the party there were still full bottles left over the next morning, including entire cartons of beer."
Teenagers were getting so drunk they needed to be taken to hospital, he said.
Mr Costello said society had created a ‘toxic culture’ for children based on material concerns resulting in self-destructive behaviour.
He said it was important that parents take responsibility for their children.
"Set a good example. Don’t drink to excess in front of them," Mr Costello said.
"When you’re exhausted after a hard week at work, don’t just give your teenager $50 and send them off to get rid of them. Spend time with them."
Mr Costello, who is the chief executive of World Vision Australia, a Baptist minister and brother of Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, stayed at Lismore Soup Kitchen founder Ridley Bell’s blueberry farm at Wollongbar.
He was here to speak at a sold-out gala dinner in support of Sudanese refugee helper Sanctuary Northern Rivers Inc on Friday night and participate in a forum at the Northern Rivers Baptist Conference at Alstonville on Saturday.
He will also speak at a fundraiser tonight at the Ballina Turf Club on the topic ‘Is there a positive future for our children?’ Money raised will go to Centacare in Ballina and Lismore Soup Kitchen.

Sarah Jaggard
Manager, Alcohol Projects
Injury Control Council of WA [Inc]
City West Lotteries House
2 Delhi Street
West Perth 6005 WA
T [08] 9420 7212
F [08] 9486 7955
W www.iccwa.org.au