The Northern District Times and the Mosman Daily have picked up on CASP researcher Kristen Tulloch's Australia Day opinion piece about "the puzzle of why Aussies love a drop". Visit the magaizine websites or read the full piece below:
There are lots of things to be proud of about being Australian. The mateship, the laid-back attitude, the ‘fair go’ outlook for anyone willing the give it a burl. A zest for life, love for the outdoors, and the freedom to enjoy a few drinks with friends. I reckon we owe a lot of this to our rough beginnings. The settlement and big changes the European settlers adjusted to surely meant that helping out a mate was a highly desirable personal characteristic, especially in times of drought or famine - thus, the Aussie Battler was born.
The settlers certainly enjoyed a few drinks with friends; in fact those early years in Australia’s settlement are considered a period of greater alcohol consumption per person than at any other time in human history. Alcohol was such an important commodity in those times that rum was used as currency at one point, and it is reported that the first fleet brought with them enough food supplies for two years, but alcohol supplies for four. What a nation of drinkers we were!
Track forward some 222 years and it’s looking like we still enjoy more than the odd tipple. According to World Health Organisation and Australian Bureau of Statistics data, we’re the fourth biggest beer drinkers in world, consuming on average over a whopping 100L per person over the age of 15 years per year. We’re one of the world’s biggest and best producers of wine, with the quality of our vino rivalling that produced by traditional powerhouses France and Italy - and as we’re consuming it at rates of on average over 28L annually per person aged over 15 years, we’re not afraid to drink it.
Alcohol seems to form part of our cultural identity, with famous Australians showing us how it’s done. Before going on to become prime minister, one young man made it into the Guinness Book of Records in the 1950’s for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in only 11 seconds. On an infamous flight to London in 1989, a test cricketer known casually as the “keg on legs” worked his way through 52 tinnies of full-strength beer. It should be pointed out that this translates to nearly 73 standard drinks. Given the usual recovery rate is one standard drink an hour, this guy was possibly under the effects for three days after that effort.
While these examples are on the extreme side, it seems that risky drinking is not uncommon for Australians. Last month the Australian Bureau of Statistics released data showing that nearly 13% of respondents had consumed alcohol at risky levels in the week prior to their interview. It would seem there are definitely some of us taking the responsibility of keeping the alcohol industry afloat a little more seriously than others - but at what cost?
Risky drinking resulted in the deaths of 32,700 Australians over the ten years between 1995-6 and 2005-6, and with current climates of binge drinking and related violent crimes and drink-driving incidents (4 in 10 Australian motorists admit to driving while over the legal limit, which is a bit of a worry given 6 in 10 people will drive to their Australia Day celebrations), there’s no sign of this trend slowing or reversing. The drinkers not covered by the death toll of alcohol include the thousands of people who experience chronic medical conditions as a result of their drinking, including problems such as cancer in the oesophagus and liver, cirrhosis of the liver, kidney problems and epilepsy. The statistic also doesn’t include the 10% of individuals who will experience a potentially irreversible alcohol-related brain impairment, -or those who develop ongoing mood problems including depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders (between 20 and 30% of heavy drinkers will develop social phobia in their lifetime).
When there’s all these risks associated with drinking alcohol, you’ve got to wonder why we do it. Everyone has their reasons and for moderate consumption (two or fewer standard drinks a day), it’s not a problem. Some people like the taste, others use it to relax at the end of the week, while some people use it to get through or cope with a social situation. If you feel like you can’t relax with others unless there’s a drink involved in social situations, even the minor ones, is it time to pull back a bit?
Watching how much you drink can be particularly relevant if you are someone who finds socialising intimidating. There’s that delicate balance between telling too much about yourself and appearing awkward and too uptight. What will I say? What if I have nobody to talk to? People will think I’m weird if I’m just standing there. Better have a drink. This may not be such a good solution though - using alcohol to feel more comfortable can lead to drinking too much or too often and in the long run can make the uncomfortable feelings worse. It’s a good thing our inner Aussie Battlers can help keep the drinking to a healthy level.
If you or someone you know uses alcohol to cope with socialising, the CASP (Combined Alcohol Social Phobia) team at Macquarie University are offering a free treatment to suitable people. Contact 9850 8670 or go to http://www.psy.mq.edu.au/casp.
Some Tips to keep drinking safe this Australia Day:
- Alternate your drinks with water, juice or soft drink: one of alcoholic, one of non-alcoholic
- Make sure you have had something to eat before and while drinking.
- Keep count how many drinks you have been having.
- Don’t top your drink up before you have finished it. If you do, it is much harder to keep track of how many drinks you’ve had.
- Know the content - 30mL of spirits, a 285mL middy of heavy beer and 100mL of wine are each one standard drink and will take approximately 1 hour to metabolise. This varies depending on your sex, weight, height, metabolic rate and a range of other factors. If wine is being casually poured, chances are you will end up with much more than 100mL. Prepackaged drinks are required by law to label the number of standard measures of alcohol they contain - make sure you check them.
- Keep moving. If you’re sitting down a lot, make sure you get up and take a little wander every now and then - go to the bathroom (and check the mirror while you’re there), get some fresh air, go and say hi to people across the room - there may be physical cues to intoxication you haven’t noticed while seated. These can be a good indicator to slow down your drinking.
Opionion piece by Kristen Tulloch
No comments:
Post a Comment