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Drinking has always been a cultural norm in Australian society and binge drinking dates back to settler times, when working convicts were partially paid in rum. Spirits were the most widely consumed alcoholic beverages in Australia at that time and early conservative estimates show that in the 1830s, 13.6 litres of pure alcohol were consumed by each person in NSW annually. The distribution of rum in the New South Wales Corps led to the only successful armed takeover of an Australian government in history. This was later called the Rum Rebellion of 1808.
Contents
- Modern day binge drinking
- Drinking laws
- Binge drinking among youth
- Binge drinking in Indigenous communities
- Solutions to binge drinking
- References
In modern-day Australia, the National Drug Strategy Household Survey found that 7.3% of the Australian population drank alcohol every day. This love of alcohol was not always the case for Australia. In the 1830s the Temperance Movement gained a following in NSW. Its influence peaked during World War I, and during the Great Depression. Prohibition was adopted in the Australian Capital Territory between 1910 and 1928. Four referendums regarding the prohibition of alcohol were conducted in Western Australia between 1911 and 1950.
Modern day binge drinking
Alcohol is widely consumed amongst all age groups and is usually available at social gatherings and cultural events. On a per capita scale, 10.3 litres of pure alcohol were consumed by each Australian every year. The world average amongst countries is 9.1 litres.
Research by the NDSHS shows that alcohol misuse costs Australia over $36 billion a year.
According to the National Binge Drinking Campaign on Young Australians and Alcohol, more than 20% of 14- to 19-year-olds consume alcohol on a weekly basis. In 2005, the Australian School Students' Alcohol and Drug Survey found that 10% of 12-year-olds had consumed alcohol in the week prior to the survey, and amongst 17 years old, this increased to 49%.
Alcohol is a major contributing cause of violence in Australia. In 2006, more than three-quarters of a million Australians were abused by persons under the influence of alcohol, including 33,147 cases in NSW.
Drinking laws
Binge drinking among youth
According to the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), 82.9% of Australians aged 14 and over had consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months, with only 10.1% having never consumed at least 1 standard drink of alcohol. The survey also found that 20.4% of Australians (23.7% of males and 17.2% of females) consumed alcohol at risky or high risk levels according to the 2001 Australian guideline for Alcohol intake. In March 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the allocation of $53 million in funding to target what he described as a "Binge-Drinking Epidemic" among young adults in Australia. Among teenagers who drink weekly, 29% of males aged 12–17 had consumed seven or more drinks on one occasion; and 32% of females in the same age group had consumed five or more drinks at the same time.
Approximately 40% of 14-19 year olds drink at levels that risk harm in the short term, like accidental injuries.
Binge drinking in Indigenous communities
In 1837, laws were passed to prevent the sale of alcoholic beverages to Aboriginal Australians, as binge drinking became a problem in indigenous communities. Despite this, alcohol was often purchased illegally and there was a trend of rapid consumption of high alcohol content beverages. This style of consumption perpetuated the binge drinking cycle. Aborigines were over-represented in arrests for drunkenness during the period, and continue to be over-represented. Aboriginal people were given the right to drink alcohol in the various states and territories between 1957 and 1975, a right which, for many aborigines, became a symbol of equality, citizenship and status.
Solutions to binge drinking
There are many initiatives, mainly funded by the federal government, to help resolve the binge drinking crisis.
Drink Wise is an independent, non-for-profit organisation founded by the alcohol industry in 2005. Its main focus is to help bring about a healthier and safer drinking culture in Australia. Drink Wise provides information for managing teen drinking, binge drinking, drink driving, effects of alcohol on pregnancy and for school leavers.
Tackling Binge Drinking is a government program supported by the AFL, which promotes a healthy alcohol culture and addresses the risks of alcohol use in adolescence, mainly surrounding sport.
DrugInfo is a website run by the Australian Drug Foundation to raise awareness of harms related to using drugs, including alcohol.