http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/alcohol/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/working-women-need-to-escape-the-grog-bog/ Can you hear a faint sort of teeth-grindy sound? No it’s not the rats in the roof gnawing the wires again, it’s just those thousands of lady drivers with the windows down as they motor past the bottle shop. Even just four days into Febfast, the annual excruciating month of alcohol abstinence, the novelty will have well and truly worn off and we’re already down to the bare bones of resentment and “I know it’s for charity and all but what the feck was I thinking”. All around Australia there are mild-mannered ladies cursing the leap year, too, as were it not for that stupid spare day, there would only be 24 grogless ones left. For many of us talented drinkers, when it comes to one’s consumption of alcohol there is the comfort of denial and “look over there, is that a rare orange-bellied parrot? (Yes waiter top me up)” for 11 months of the year, and then there is the long, hard look in the mirror that is horrendous February. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/working-women-need-to-escape-the-grog-bog/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/working-women-need-to-escape-the-grog-bog/#item7667 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-05-12-11/ Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-05-12-11/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/punch-on-open-thread-05-12-11/#item7296 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/plastered-parents-sanats-not-the-only-festive-fib/ To be or not to be truthful about Santa? This, for many concerned, Christmas-ing parents, is the question. I’m always amazed at the number of fully grown humans who insist that the Santa lie preserves the “magic” and “innocence” of Christmas for children. Ah, yes: a strangely attired man who obscures his identity with facial hair (and has a lap fetish and a naughtiness obsession) is about to break into your home via your chimney. How magic is that. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/plastered-parents-sanats-not-the-only-festive-fib/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/plastered-parents-sanats-not-the-only-festive-fib/#item7272 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/schoolies-hell-yeah/ On cue, the league of self-appointed moral guardians is dutifully doing the rounds, making a lot of noise about Schoolies and the imminent decay of Good Society it will precipitate. They make arbitrary claims about what constitutes “fun” and play upon the tired moral panics over young girls, binge drinking and indiscriminate sex. Why, they ask, must school-leavers celebrate the end of mandatory education by congregating near beaches and getting plastered? And why hasn’t someone – presumably the government – put a stop to all this and offered some more wholesome, healthier alternative for kids to let off steam? Well, there are plenty of alternatives, none of them popular. Schoolies is a naturally developing phenomenon and nobody is forced to participate. Year after year, thousands of friendship groups independently make the decision to head north, or south as the case may be, and enjoy being away from home, with lots of booze and lots of sex. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/schoolies-hell-yeah/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/schoolies-hell-yeah/#item7262 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/schoolies-yeah-pass/ It says a lot about Australia’s binge-drinking culture that an event such as Schoolies Week - where drunken violence, date rape and death by misadventure is relatively commonplace – is regarded as a routine rite of passage for young people who in most cases aren’t even old enough to drink legally. I still have about eight years up my sleeve but as a parent I am dreading the day when my son or, especially, daughter comes to me and says: “Dad, can I go to Schoolies?” It is a nightmarish scenario for parents. You want to strike a balance between making sure your kids are safe, but not wanting to keep them so swaddled in cotton wool that they become resentful and maladjusted introverts who miss the chance to socialise and have some fun at a landmark moment in their lives. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/schoolies-yeah-pass/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/schoolies-yeah-pass/#item7257 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/trust-us-youll-all-drink-less-one-day/ FARE is a small organisation with a dream. There is no denying that FARE has taken on a cause of epic proportions – a shape-shifting entity that is hard to define because its boundaries are constantly changing. Alcohol is a central part of Australian culture, and it crosses demographic, geographic and social divides in a way other cultural activities don’t. Drinking alcohol is for the young and old, the high achievers and under achievers, the wealthy and the destitute. For most Australians, drinking alcohol is a choice that doesn’t devalue their lives. It is more likely to add entertainment, experiential or leisure value. How do we view Australia’s drinking culture? Is it a glass half empty, or a glass half full? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/trust-us-youll-all-drink-less-one-day/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/trust-us-youll-all-drink-less-one-day/#item7198 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/between-boozer-and-wowser-is-a-sensible-drinker/ Mineral water, sparkling wine, sauvignon banc, chardonnay or pinot noir. That was the dilemma I faced last Wednesday night as the guest of FARE, an independent and charitable foundation set up to ten years ago to help prevent the harmful use of alcohol in Australia.  Don’t be afraid to have a drink tonight, urged our generous host. But while I sipped self-consciously on my mineral water I did start to wonder where this night would end up. After all, as their slogan proudly says, FARE are committed to “changing the way we drink”. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/between-boozer-and-wowser-is-a-sensible-drinker/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/between-boozer-and-wowser-is-a-sensible-drinker/#item7152 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-hop-on-the-booze-bus-this-summer/ Few Australians navigate their teen years without heaving their guts up after a massive drinking binge. With Schoolies Week almost upon us, the focus will no doubt turn to dangerous levels of alcohol consumption in youngsters.  I hardly touch the stuff now but as a teenager, mainly to fit in with my friends, I smuggled cheap wine cask bladders into pubs and guzzled them. The aftermath was never pretty, and luckily it didn’t take long for me to realise blacking out and throwing up were not much fun. I’ve basically been a teetotaller since my early 20s. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-hop-on-the-booze-bus-this-summer/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-hop-on-the-booze-bus-this-summer/#item7149 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Anti-booze-narks-are-whining-themselves-to-death/ In one of the songs on his famous Graceland album Paul Simon uses the tongue-in-cheek line “why don’t we get together and call ourselves an institute?”. The anti-alcohol lobby is obviously a big fan because it appears to be using this as the basis for its PR strategy. Any time members get together to peddle their message they call it a summit or a forum or something similar that will offer the media promise of serious discussion and new ideas. There have been three such events quite recently. On September 6 they held a “panel discussion” (comprising a group of people who share their views) to add gravitas to a media conference calling for changes to wine tax. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Anti-booze-narks-are-whining-themselves-to-death/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Anti-booze-narks-are-whining-themselves-to-death/#item7063 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/young-women-have-not-gone-to-the-dogs/ Most young women are not lying in the gutter with vomit in their hair.  Nor are they starving themselves so they can drink more booze, sleeping with everyone they meet or stuffing endless amounts of cocaine up their nose. But you’d be forgiven for thinking so if you’d read a newspaper over the past month. Three articles in just as many weeks have painted an extraordinarily dark and reckless picture of young Aussie women. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/young-women-have-not-gone-to-the-dogs/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/young-women-have-not-gone-to-the-dogs/#item7041 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Goodbye weekend, hello new working week. That’s just our way of saying happy Monday, Punchers! Did anyone overindulge this weekend? And by overindulge we mean, did anyone drink too much? Those who did might be interested in a big fat glass of Security Feel Better. What’s that, you ask? It’s Europe’s latest hangover cure that promises results in just under 45 minutes. The French-made drink contains contained an “enzyme that helped break down alcohol in the liver five times faster than the body on its own.”  The marketing company behind the product says it should only be used as a “hangover cure”. But we’re not so convinced. With such fast results, wouldn’t you be tempted to drink a little bit more, then take a big gulp of “Security” before driving home? Hmmmm.