Dear GrogWatch,

I recently spent six weeks in Europe and have made some observations about alcohol availability and use. My comments are based on many years working with drug dependant people and I think that we must accept that people will continue to drink alcohol, that change in habits will be slow and that we have to look at new ways to bring about change.

I believe that many existing laws controlling alcohol are fairly good but they are not policed. Back in the days of the six o’clock closing uniformed police used to patrol through the bars. Ever see a policeman in a pub these days? Many councils ban alcohol in public places on New Years Eve and the police say it is a success because they had fewer problems. But what about several nights every week of the year where they fail to stop problems just by not being there? There is supposed to be responsible service of alcohol in licensed premises but there is plenty of evidence that this does not occur in many venues.

The association between sport and alcohol must be broken. It is unbelievable that “sportsmen” being paid six figure salaries are not restricted in alcohol consumption as part of their contract. It is unbelievable that they can offend and are accepted back in the team without sanctions. This is a case of sport being promoted for profit. I am sure that Olympic hopefuls would consume very little if any alcohol while in training.

I found two instances of good sport related advertising in Europe. There was a world championship ski event in Oslo and they produced a souvenir booklet for it. In 74 pages the nearest reference to alcohol was a “hot toddy” but that turned out to be a hot fruit drink and there was a full page advertisement for “Solo” orange drink. In Switzerland the hotel had paper place mats advertising Rivella, a non alcoholic fruit drink being promoted as the official drink of the Swiss Ski Team as well as offering discount ski passes to consumers. There are plenty of alternatives to alcohol advertising such as national or statewide banks, telcos, finance companies, merchants etc.

In addressing the problem of unsafe alcohol consumption we must target the big end of town. Any restrictions by way of legislation must not interfere with a responsible person’s reasonable consumption of alcohol. Change will be unpopular with governments, producers and the public but if it happens slowly after consultation and with warning it will be accepted. I believe that we should all find common ground between prohibition and free for all.

Michael, NSW

*edited for length

The new look ADF DrugInfo website and email alert service was launched today at the 6th International Conference on Drugs and Young People.

The new DrugInfo website and email alert service continues to provide quality assured, evidence-based information relating to alcohol and other drugs.

The website has been streamlined and optimised to make finding the information you want quicker and easier.

Bookmark it today!

The ADF held its final Community Forum for the 2010/2011 Financial Year at Traralgon on Wednesday 27 April.

In front of an enthusiastic and engaged audience the afternoon session began with a presentation by Andy Milbourne in his position as Chair for RoadSafe Latrobe Community. He detailed the ‘Looking After Our Mates’ program that he presents to various groups including local sporting clubs. Aimed at the teenage and young adults the 40 minute interactive presentation aims to educate young drivers about the effect of alcohol on decision making. With the aim of ultimately saving lives, the program seeks to instil in young people the importance of making good decisions as well as ‘looking after your mates’.

This was followed by a presentation from the ADF’s Sarah Jaggard on the new Secondary Supply legislation that has been introduced into State Parliament by the new Coalition Government. The session concluded with the screening the ADF’s Your Shout DVD.

Session 2 – Alcohol Management & Policies in Sports clubs was chaired by the ADF’s Good Sports Victorian State Manager Rod Glenn-Smith. A number of speakers were introduced to the audience including Robin Lowe, President Sale Tennis club who spoke passionately about the value of the Good Sports program to their club; Chris Stanlake from GippSport – the ADF’s Community Partner for the Good Sports program in Gippsland; Kellie Fixter, RAV Compliance Officer about their role in auditing licensed premises for compliance to State Liquor Licensing Law; Andy Milbourne who delivered the ‘Looking After Our Mates’ presentation; and finally Colin Mann who delivered the Club Liquor Licensing Seminar.

In lieu of New Entrant Training, this seminar provided valuable information for club delegates on understanding their liquor license and the conditions of use attached – information that will better enable clubs to remain compliant to State Liquor Licensing regulations around sale and consumption of alcohol.

*Thanks to Rod for writing this!

Recently launched was  LGADIN - the Local Government Alcohol and Drug Info Net.

In addition to providing Australian local governments with information and resources to respond to alcohol and other drug related problems in their communities, LGADIN enables the local government sector to share innovations amongst colleagues and other government and non-government stakeholders.

With the impact of alcohol and other drug use and misuse on local communities across Australia being a concern from capital cities to remote areas, LGADIN will keep you up-to-date with national, state / territory and local policy and programming developments to help build your council’s capacity in the management and prevention of alcohol and other drug related harms.

Enforce booze laws in Alice: Abbott
Sydney Morning Herald, 29 April 2011
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says existing alcohol restrictions in central Australia should be enforced before even tougher measures to curb Aboriginal drinking are considered. He has also called for a crackdown on truancy in the Northern Territory, declaring school attendance abysmal.

Living hard, dying young in the Kimberley
The Australian, 30 April 2011
The funeral, brief and heart-rending, was held in the shade of a half-wrecked basketball court. The music was gospel-country, the service Catholic, modified to suit east Kimberley traditional beliefs. At the gravesite were plastic flowers, birthday flowers. It would have been the 23rd birthday of the young woman who was being laid in the ground; at the front of the mourners, her little daughter looked on.

Push to combat abuse of alcohol and tobacco
The Australian, 30 April 2011
Alcohol advertising will be put under a health watch and high smoking rates among low-income earners will be tackled in the nation's first preventive health plan. .The head of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, Rhonda Galbally, has delivered Health Minister Nicola Roxon her first one-year operational plan.

Warning over long-term drinking link to common cancers
The Age, 2 May 2011
Alcohol consumption causes more than 5000 cases of cancer in Australia each year - more than half of them breast cancer, new figures show. A Cancer Council analysis reveals the number of cancer cases caused by long-term drinking in Australia is far higher than previously thought, following strong international evidence of its link to a broader range of cancer types.

Doctor calls for drinking culture shake-up
Canberra Times, 2 May 2011
The head of Canberra Hospital's emergency department says incidents of alcohol poisoning have fallen dramatically in the past year as harsher penalties and education programs are rolled out. But Michael Hall said Canberrans needed to re-examine drinking culture as alcohol was still the biggest issue for emergency department staff.

Kids wired on alco drinks caffeine cocktails slammed
Herald Sun, 29 April 2011
Children as young as 12 are downing alcoholic energy drinks to get a dangerous high. Research on the appeal of caffeine and booze cocktails in cans has exposed the disturbing trend. The study has reignited calls for mixes to be banned from all bottle shops and bars in the country. 

Well I am, anyway.  Not meaning to gloat, but I'll be sunning myself along side my private pool in Bali for the next fortnight.  You can expect GrogWatch back in your inbox on May 24 2011.

- Sarah