SOCIAL ISSUE

Alcohol- Social Issue



Alcohol- Social Issue

Current Issues/Concerns

Introduction

Drinking alcohol is the most common form of drug abuse used in Australia. It has become so widely used that many people don't think of it as a drug. Alcohol has become an intrinsic part of the national character. Binge drinking - getting smashed or off your face - can be defined in two ways. Firstly as having six or more drinks in a row (although this definition is currently being challenged with health authorities wanting to change this definition to more than four drinks in a sitting) or secondly as drinking large amounts every now and then and “losing control”. While binge drinking effects people of all ages, studies indicate that binge drinking is on the increase with young people with one in four young people having more than 20 drinks a day at least once a month.  (Hando 2008: 137-147)

Alcohol abuse and binge drinking is damaging to health of the individual and those around them being shown to lead to death, permanent brain damage, alcohol poisoning, violence, sexual assault road and other accidents such as drowning. It is also damaging to the economy with costs related illness and injury estimated to cost the community $7.6 billion per year. A newspaper poll showed of 602 people polled in NSW 81% believes that Australia has a binge drinking culture. The media all too often contains stories of sports stars and media personalities behaving badly under the influence of alcohol. To the young who aspire to be like their “heroes” follow in their footsteps and mimic behaviour. This fascination with these high profile personalities and the often lack of or very little consequences for their actions will lead these young people to believe that alcohol is part of being “cool' and continue to mimic these behaviours in order to emulate the lifestyles of the rich and famous. (Martin 2009: 259-261)

The rise of alcopops, designer drinks or pre-packaged pre mixed drinks has been said to be linked to the rise in binge drinking amongst teenagers. The government recently in the last budget increased the taxes on these popular drinks in the effort to reduce teenage drinking. However when as reported in the Sun Herald in July 2008 after polling 605 people in NSW found that 81% of respondents believed that Australia has a binge drinking culture will taxes be enough to reduce what appears to be an entrenched cultural norm. (Kevin 2009: 205-209)

Will the new tax turn out to be a deterrent to teenage drinkers or will it as often reported just add to the problem by changing drinking habits of the young to buy lesser taxed alcohols, lead to increased drink spiking as the young do not have the safety of bottled drinks and turn to missing their own drinks. Only time will tell however the subject of binge drinking especially in the young appears to be reaching epidemic proportions. The consequences to the health of our young and the economic consequences will ...