Alcohol Consumption Policy in Australia

Policy Purpose
The aim of this alcohol consumption policy is to provide a clear guideline, strategies and policies that can be used in Australia to prevent alcohol consumption related health risks and harms and thus enabling individuals to make informed decisions about their
drinking, provide health care providers with evidence-based advise on health and alcohol consumption, promote population health and give policy advise to the government and policy-makers on the issues related to harm and alcohol consumption.
Policy Details.
According to the World Health Organization( WHO) 2019, alcohol is a psychoactive and toxic substance with high dependency.
Alcohol consumption leads to poor health to many individuals as well as over three million deaths every year globally. Besides, the
harmful use of alcohol constitutes over 5% of the global burden of disease in the whole world(WHO, 2011). Therefore, it is crucial to
provide alcohol consumption policies to promote the health and wellness of individuals and their families as well as reduce the overall
cost burden(Boden, 2017). This policy constitutes standards definitions related to harmful consumption of alcohol, evidenced-based
strategies that can be used to prevent alcohol abuse in the country, scope and other related policies that promote healthy alcohol
consumption in Australia.
Policy Scope.
This policy is adopted from the Australian Guidelines to Reduce Risks from Drinking Alcohol in 2009 and evidenced-based research from various studies and
observations. The policy provides various ways individuals can prevent both immediate risks of injuries and long life-related harms associated with unsafe
consumption of alcohol to individuals over 18 years as permitted by the Australian alcohol regulation laws and policies.(Commonwealth of Australia Department of
Health, 2017) In addition, the scope of this policy covers prevention of harms in children and teenagers under the age of 18, provide advice on how to minimize
alcohol-related diseases burdens, and give evidence-based information to health professionals on advises they can give to either people using alcohol or not for health
promotion purposes(Babor et al., 2013). This policy can be used by both health care workers, government and the general population.
Definition
Standard Drink
One standard drink is equivalent to fourteen
grams of pure alcohol which can be similar to 12
ounces (0.45 kg) of regular beer which usually
have about 5% or 4.2% of alcohol, 5 ounces (189
gram) of wine which have 12% of alcohol and
1.5 ounce (56.7 g) of distilled spirits that contain
40% alcohol(Department of Health, 2017).
Related Policies.
The National Drug Strategy 2017-2016
The National Drug Strategy was created to provide interventions and guide government actions in providing strategies that balance, demand, supply and reduce
harms related to tobacco, alcohol and other drugs in Australia general population(Department of Health, 2017).
The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Drinking Guidelines.
This policy was created to provide the Australian Alcohol Guidelines that constitute health and harms related to alcohol use in adults, children and country
economics and proposed various control guidelines.
Procedures.
A comprehensive policy for effective control of alcohol consumption should include strategies from the following groups.
Strategies population
• Individuals taking alcohol should set goals and inhibit themselves from taking excessive alcohol. This should include
drinking a maximum of two standard drinks per day or four standard drinks for occasional alcohol consumption.
• Seek medical advice from health professionals if unable to take the standard amount of alcohol per day.
• Follow country rules and regulations on alcohol consumption.
• Create timetables and set days for alcohol intake.
• Take a balanced diet before and after drinking alcohol
Strategies and policies by the government
• Reduce and regulate mid-night clubs which promote further alcohol intake
• reduce the number of clubs in areas with high alcohol dependency individuals.
• Control the amount of alcohol a bar can purchase per day in relevant to the available population.
• Increase taxation rates on alcoholic beverages to reduce demand and affordability
• Regulate strictly and enforce driving rules and regulations
• Increase alcohol-free zones
Strategies by healthcare providers.
• Promote patients with alcohol dependence by providing advice on various alcohol avoiding techniques such as delay
technique, distract technique, and urge surfing techniques.
• Increase public awareness on the effect of alcohol abuse on health and provide alternative solutions.
• Promote healthy eating to the public through health promotion and campaigns.
Supporting Information
According to the National Health and Medical Research Council NHMRC, two standards drinks per day and
four standard drinks for occasional drinkers per day reduces the risk of any alcohol-related injury and lifetime
harm in both males and females(Department of Health, 2017). Health promotion and advice by health care
workers have a great significant to prevent alcohol abuse by the public. The WHO recommends that
government tariffs, increase taxation and implementation of rules and regulations that inhibit or lowers alcohol
consumption plays a major role in decreasing alcohol-related health harms in any given country(Al-Yaman,
2017).
References
Al-Yaman, F. (2017) ‘The Australian Burden of Disease Study: impact and causes of illness and death in Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people’, Public Health Research & Practice, 27(4), pp. 1–5. doi: 10.17061/phrp2741732.
Babor, T. et al. (2013) ‘Who is responsible for the public’s health? The role of the alcohol industry in the WHO global strategy to
reduce the harmful use of alcohol’, Addiction. doi: 10.1111/add.12368.
Boden, J. M. (2017) ‘Alcohol policies’, in The Palgrave Handbook of Australian and New Zealand Criminology, Crime and Justice. doi:
10.1007/978-3-319-55747-2_53.
Commonwealth of Australia Department of Health (2017) ‘The National Drug Strategy 2017-2026’, Commonwealth of Australia.
Department of Health (2017) ‘The National Drug Strategy 2017-2026’, Commonwealth of Australia.
W. H. O. (2011) ‘WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol 2011’, Management of substance abuse: alcohol.[site da Internet].[acessado
2013 out 13].Disponível em: http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/alcohol/