NSW: Aussie shout under fire by alcohol education group

AAP General News (Australia)
02-16-2005
NSW: Aussie shout under fire by alcohol education group

By Lisa Macnamara

SYDNEY, Feb 16 AAP - The great Aussie shout was called into question by an alcohol
education group today after new research showed binge drinking is considered the norm.

The survey found almost half of the 500 respondents believed getting drunk was an acceptable
part of the Australian way of life.

The Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER) released the findings in
Sydney, and called on governments to assist with changing long-term cultural habits.

"I think `shouting' is one of our major problems," AER chief executive officer Daryl
Smeaton told reporters.

"If you get in a shout of more than five people, you're going to be drinking over the
safe drinking levels if you go through a full shout.

"That's something we really need to start thinking about.

"Is shouting - that time-honoured tradition in this country - is it good for us in
the long term but more particularly, is it good for us in the short term?"

AER said while Australians now drink less per head than they used to, the pattern of
consumption - in terms of greater acceptance of binge drinking - was relatively new.

"It's not about saying, `don't drink', it's about saying to people, `look at what happens
when you drink the way you do' and start to think about how you might change those habits
while still enjoying a drink," Mr Smeaton said.

Binge drinking is defined by reaching a blood alcohol level of 0.08 in two hours -
six standard drinks for a man or four drinks for a woman, the foundation said.

Conducted by Quantum Market Research, the survey found one in three Australians believed
binge drinking was okay, as long as it wasn't done all the time.

One third of respondents said it was okay to drink to excess at home or at celebrations,
and 21 per cent felt you should not tell another person how much is too much alcohol.

Mr Smeaton said action was needed to produce long-term cultural change.

And while drink-driving campaigns were effective, they also encouraged younger people
to consume to excess.

"It's an implied encouragement but certainly there is no question about the fact that,
particularly groups of young people, they go out with a designated driver and that works,
but everybody else gets absolutely plastered," Mr Smeaton said.

"Even in those circumstances, sometimes the designated driver doesn't get the keys."

AAP lmc/kp/pb/jlw

KEYWORD: ALCOHOL NIGHTLEAD

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