Australia has always had a boozy reputation, but now excessive drinking is on the rise. One in eight Australians drink at dangerous levels. And the effects on long-term health are likely to be catastrophic. Doctors are warning of a surge in chronic diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver and cancers as well as brain disorders in the next 20 years.
“It’s our culture, our society accepts it and in some ways society encourages it. Alcohol leaves all the other drugs — heroin, ecstasy, ice (methamphetamine) — absolutely for dead. They’re minute compared to problems caused by alcohol drinking,” said Associate Professor Gordian Fulde from Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital.
On average about 10 Australians die every day as a result of alcohol consumption. It is a health calamity that affects the lives of so many. The Australian National Council on Drugs has found that 2,30,000 children have a parent or care-giver, who drinks excessively.
“I think what’s happened here (is) it’s a reflection of our prosperity, in the sense that there’s more money that is available for drinking alcohol,” said the council’s chairman John Herron, who pointed out that the cost of beer, wine and spirits has also gone down.
Research has shown that those families with alcohol problems are also commonly affected by mental illness as well as physical and sexual abuse. Australia’s indigenous population is suffering more than any other group. Black Australians are twice as likely to die from the effects of drinking as their non-aboriginal counterparts. A recent report showed that alcohol misuse claims the life of an aborigine every 38 hours. Suicide is the greatest cause of death among intoxicated men, while many women die of liver cirrhosis or strokes.
There is a feeling that aborigines turn to booze and other drugs because they feel left behind by mainstream society more than two centuries after European colonisation.
Beer and wine have been outlawed in some “dry” indigenous communities but for many the cravings remain irresistible. Despite the gloom — and there is plenty of that — there is hope that things will one day improve.
Australians — both black and white — are increasingly hitting the bottle. Binge drinking has emerged as the real menace. Those who have to pick up the pieces say the situation is out of control and getting worse. “The thing that is very scary is that females — especially young ones — have now adopted and may be even improving on male drinking habits,” said Gordian Fulde.