Binge Drinking - a Growing Epidemic

Binge drinking is defined by the ABS as �levels of drinking on any one occasion and is associated with risk of harm (particularly injury or death) in the short term; for males, risky/high risk level of harm in the short term would equate to drinking seven or more standard drinks on any single occasion, for females, five or more’ (ABS 4832.0.55.001, 2006). There is growing global concern about the increase in levels of binge drinking. Alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs in Australia. At least one in ten Australians can be classified as binge drinkers, and 6% of all adult Australians abuse alcohol or are dependent on it. About one in every four people are �problem drinkers’, meaning they drink more than the recommended limits. It is well documented that drinking too much can lead to serious social and economic problems. Mental and physical health, relationships and even work can be compromised by alcohol, and often the effects of drink remain unchecked until a serious addiction develops. Around 3,000 people die every year because of alcohol abuse and annually it’s estimated 65,000 people are hospitalised because of alcohol abuse. Studies have revealed there is a consistent link between heavy drinking and physical brain damage. 2,500 Australians are now treated annually for alcohol related brain damage. There is evidence suggesting women may be at increased risk of breast cancer from even moderate amounts of alcohol. A 1994 review found 1 alcoholic drink per day was associated with an 11% increase in the risk of breast cancer compared with non-drinkers. The NSW Cancer Council reveals there is up to a 40% higher risk of breast cancer in women who consume at least 3 standard drinks a day (30 grams of alcohol) when compared with non drinkers (Salvation Army Website, 2008).

Binge drinking can be colloquially defined in two ways. Firstly, as having six or more drinks in a row; or secondly, as drinking large amounts every now and then and вЂ?losing control’. There are two kinds of binge drinking вЂ" drinking a lot over a few hours, or drinking over several days or weeks. The second type is more harmful to the body and is often a repeated behaviour. However, the level of binge drinking within the Australian population is still worryingly high, especially in the youth demographic. 16% of 14-17 year old females and 41% of 18-24 year old females reported drinking 7 drinks or more in any one session in the last month. 17% of 14-17 year old males and 38% of 18-24 year old males reported drinking 11 drinks or more in any one session in the last month. 36% of all males 14+ drank double or more the responsible level (at least 6-10 drinks or more in any one session) and 22% of female drinkers 14+ drank 5-8 drinks or more in any one session (graphs showing the aforementioned statistics can be found in Appendix 1).

As there has been a noticeable increase in the levels of binge drinking, it is an issue that has come to the front of media and political attention in recent months. The issue has been discussed in Parliament on numerous occasions and is a concern at the forefront of PM Kevin Rudd’s agenda. Because of this, it is an issue that must be addressed by alcohol companies in an effort to combat this social and health concern. There are several issues that will be addressed based on the aforementioned statistics and health concerns. These include: analysing the safe and advised level of drinking to determine whether it is too high, or too low; analysing what is currently being done to curb drinking levels and what is planned to be done in the future to curb drinking levels; and finally, by highlighting some of the costs associated with alcohol abuse that are not necessarily financial. The paper will finally conclude by proposing suggestions for the future combat of this issue. This is an issue that I feel has received significant coverage within the media in recent months, and the health concerns from excessive drinking are explicit and widely known. However, binge drinking levels continue to rise. I am hoping to gain a better understanding from this paper as to why one in ten Australians binge drink and specifically, why one in six young people are having more than 20 drinks a day at least once a month (Salvation Army, 2006).

Firstly, since the issue of binge drinking was brought to the forefront of the media, there have been numerous recommendations on the safe level of drinking. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) produced a series of draft guidelines on alcohol use which concludes that more than two standard drinks a day was “risky” for both men and women (Metherell, 2008) and that pregnant and breastfeeding women cut alcohol out of their diets altogether (SMH, 2008). These guidelines would replace those issued by the NHMRC in 2001 which recommended that men have no more than four standard drinks a day, women have no more than two standard drinks a day (unchanged) and pregnant and breastfeeding women have a maximum of one standard drink per day. These recommendations have been welcomed by the Parliament and the general media.

However, the liquor industry has launched a campaign against these guidelines, claiming the people who framed them had produced a “flawed” report. The report author for Access Economics, Lynne Pezzullo, was recently quoted as saying that the council had produced a result that was “both flawed and alarmist” by failing to look at Australian statistics and by ignoring the proven health benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, including improved heart disease outcomes (Metherell, 2008). However, the validity of the report has been questioned as the Access Economics report was commissioned and paid for by the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia and therefore, there is a potential conflict of interests within the report. Conversely, Professor Robin Room, of Melbourne Univeristy’s school of population health and a member of the expert committee which did the research contributing to the draft guidelines, has retaliated by saying that the Access Economics report was flawed and not the NHRMC report. The draft guidelines, according to Professor Room, were to set out the risks involved in drinking, and what people made of them was a separate issue (Metherell, 2008). Therefore, there is no resolute answer to the safe drinking guidelines. The NHMRC and the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia are yet to meet an agreement on what is the safe level of drinking that satisfies the proven health benefits of alcohol consumption.

Secondly, it is important to outline the steps that have already been taken to curb binge drinking. The federal government, since focusing