Binge Drinking
It was around 11 in the morning and Aunty Mavis came to the door. It had been raining: her wig was askew and her badly drawn on eyebrows were running down into her eyes. As usual, she had a bottle of Stone’s Green Ginger wine in a string bag.
It was just before lunchtime and my sisters and I were sitting around the Formica table in my grandparents’ kitchen shelling peas onto newspaper, preparing for a baked dinner. She came in and was drinking with Nanna who was peeling potatoes in the sink. Grandad was out the back, drunk, listening to the races.
Continue reading "If alcohol is no big deal, go without it for a month" »
Remember the Alanis Morissette song Ironic?
It was pretty popular around the time I was introduced to alcohol and it also rang in my ears as I read that researchers at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK are advising an “alcohol allowance” to help prevent today’s teens from “falling into …the binge drinking trap”.
That’s right. They believe it’s inherently safer for teenagers to be given alcohol rations from their parents than be left to their own devices, hooking up with friends and buying from pubs or off-licences with a fake ID.
Continue reading "One bad idea to tackle teen drinking: give them beer" »
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LSSL says:
Lucy, Yeah sorry but that’s not irony, it’s just counterintuitive. Some research- before you go and slam the attitudes towards alcohol of other nations- wouldn’t go astray, as you seem to have missed the point. In France and Germany especially, most minors are introduced to alcohol by their parents in… Read more »
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AK says:
I agree with TDMG - Except from the opposite perspective. Growing up I was never given alcohol to try or taste (not because of strict parents, just because I guess it never occurred to them to be an option) And as a result the first couple of times I tried… Read more »
Those of us who enjoy the occasional night on the razz often have a special outfit that we like to wear when hitting the town. Some years ago I worked in a newsroom which had a communal purple silk tie which was shared around like the yellow jacket in the Tour de France. When worn it became code for: I am leaving the office, and may be some time.
Carlton’s Brendan Fevola is in a league of his own when it comes to his fashion regimen. This elite A-grade sorting superstar seems reluctant to leave the house unless he’s frocked up, literally, in a pink petticoat, felt bowler hat with flowers in it, and a foot-long sex toy which he either hangs out the front of his pants or waves above his head.
He did it at the end of last year’s season, snapped by a casual punter who recognised him as he stood looking like something out of A Clockwork Orange on a Melbourne CBD street corner in broad daylight.
Continue reading "These nobs are going to cost us all a drink" »
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Bob says:
We now have photographic proof that Fevola is both a wanker and a dickhead. If he really had a foot why doesnt he use it as a rule Read more »
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Don says:
Most sporting teams at end of season events, each dress another member of the team. Its called Dress a Mate - quite a common thing now a days. So that’s why they’re usually in crazy outfits and women’s clothing - lets be honest wouldn’t you do the same to your… Read more »
Australia’s binge drinking culture sure is a divisive issue. But to put it simply we have two options. Stand by and do nothing and risk the $16bn alcohol toll escalating further out of control, or do something to break the cycle and make us a safer country.
Last week, when I asked the readers of The Punch for a solution, there were some comments which suggested that I wanted to turn Australia into a nanny state.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. And just so we’re crystal clear I don’t want to or ever plan to introduce prohibition.
Continue reading "No silver bullet in the binge drinking debate" »
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sean says:
teenagers drink. some drink alot, some dont drink at all. there is no amount of compaigning any government can do about it to stop it. there is an undeniable link between alcohol and violence, but the fault does not lie with alcohol. it instead lies with the person who is… Read more »
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SteveB says:
Plewis, you add up all the costs associated with the deaths, illnesses, accidents, violence and the loss of work days etc that go with them, it’s not the first time that sort of number has been raised. I believe if you have a read of the “National Alcohol Strategy” documents… Read more »
BEN Cousins still drinks. I discovered this in Fred Pawle’s excellent piece on the AFL’s favourite recreational drug user in this month’s GQ magazine. I also learned that the Louis Vuitton drawstring (tracksuit) pants he wore in the photo shoot cost $1460, but I won’t get into that except to say footballers have changed.
It would not be such a revelation that Cousins still enjoys the odd beer had he not spent the slabs of his career heading out for a quiet drink after the game, only to emerge four days later on the front of The West Australian in the same jeans, white thongs and Elwood t-shirt. In his final season at West Coast, he was spending more time with bikies than at training.
We’ve been led to believe Cousins’ transformation from druggie to role model is complete, but Pawle’s article proves he has a long way to go. When asked if he still has a drink, Cousins’ reply was sheepish. “Yeah…I have to be careful with that sort of stuff,” he said.
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regina says:
@Mr Pastry - why thank you! you might be surprised to hear that i don’t even barrack for richmond. actually i don’t care much for afl at all. i’m not saintly. in fact far from it. i just don’t think his cries for help can be ignored ... particularly when… Read more »
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Mr Pastry says:
Regina - glad you have thought this through sensibly, I wish you well in performing therapeutic duties to aid his rehabilitation - you are almost saintly and an example to us all. Read more »
Newsflash: smoking is bad for you. So, apparently, is drinking to excess. And, wait for it, regularly gouging on fatty foods is no good either. It’s shocking, I know. Better go get a coffee to help get over it all; but do make it one of those low fat, caffeine free types so as to look after yourself.
Maybe, however, you happen to be one of the 99 per cent of people who knew these things to be the facts of life already. You may still engage in one or some of them, but you do so knowing that there are risks.
This informed consent that you grant yourself is under threat. A new buzz-phrase is sweeping the bureaucracy and is being visited upon us all. It’s called “preventative health”.
Continue reading "Motherhood health report tells us what we already know" »
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Andrew Michaels says:
Simon you are such a disappointment. Your lack of any real conviction shows in this essay. Have you forgotten that your own party advocated for a rise in cigarette tax in Turnbull’s budget in reply speech. Rather than be a follower of where you think popular sentiment is going and… Read more »
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jason edwards says:
Simon - The issue is not wether the government crosses any lines by delivering important health messages, but the ability of the government to cut that message through to the general public. Why on earth would you ague that the government should not use the tools it has control over… Read more »
Tougher penalties for alcohol-related offences were the most popular response to a call from Family First Senator Steve Fielding for new ideas on tackling binge drinking in Australia.
But that was from those who agreed it was a problem in the first place. Many were also of the view Australia’s relationship with alcohol is just fine, and there was some mirth at Senator’s shock at a staff member who confessed to drinking 12 “jagerbomb” cocktails the night before playing cricket.
“12… 12… IS THAT ALL HOW SOFT ARE YOU!” was the response of one proud binger.
Continue reading "10 of your ideas for dealing with binge drinking" »
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acker says:
I like option “8” 8. Recharge the booze industry for the cost But I also think that a 2am to 10am TOTAL BOOZE SALE BAN should be looked at and 24 hour Casinos such as Crown should also be forced to shut between 2am - 10am If you want to… Read more »
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mandy says:
The problem with binge drinking is that society has made it exceptible and the thing to do. You ask anyone who is going out on friday night or going to a party what they will be doing ! i can garantee they will say “getting smashed”. Alcohol is not the… Read more »
Gary Reinbach died a couple of days ago in the UK of alcoholic liver failure, aged just 22.
His life could have been saved with a liver transplant, but Gary didn’t qualify because he wasn’t well enough to leave hospital to prove he could clean himself up and deserved a second shot at growing up.
Obviously the allocation of donor organs has to comply with a set of criteria, such is the limited supply. But it seems amazing to me a 22-year-old could be told he wasn’t worth being on the list.
Continue reading "They should have given this 22-year-old alcoholic a liver" »
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ted says:
My dad is currently waiting for liver because of NASH. A genetic decease caused liver decease. He now lies in a bed in hospital with only weeks to live and with no answer other than a liver tranplant will extend his life. So the lad had some issues and an… Read more »
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Sam says:
It is a sad story, but criteria for the allocation of organs are there for a reason. I wonder if this case has received so much media coverage because of Gary’s age, people, generally, feel more compassion for the young, with what is viewed as a “full life ahead of… Read more »
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