Australia's alcohol idiot problem

[purple.cow]

I think it's past time the Australian government treated the problems associated with alcohol as it has been doing for a long time with cigarettes and smoking because while smoking is harmful to a person's health it usually only affects the smoker in a serious way themselves, whereas the problems arising from grog harm many around the drunken idiot.

Heavy drinking results in public brawling to the extent where death occurs to both the drinker and others they see fit to harm.

Heavy drinkers also seriously abuse kids and partners, both physically and mentally.

Alcohol abuse is a growing issue among our young people.

Alcohol abuse costs the country millions of dollars every year through loss of productivity due to the drinker chucking sickies because they are hungover or suffering ill effects of grog the following day.

Alcohol abuse results in way too many deaths and injuries on our roads every year.

alcoholics cost our public health system millions every years due to the serious issues it causes to the abuser.

I could go on and on about the bad side of grog, but it will start sounding as though I'm totally anti-grog if I do, when in fact I have absolutely nothing against anyone enjoying a drink or two, but I have a hell of a lot against what abusing the stuff causes.

So, I think it's time that the Australian government takes a far more serious approach to the subject.

To do this they should start off with banning all alcohol/and alcohol related products from public advertising - just as they did with smoking products many years ago.

Next they should slap on an immediate minimum tax price rise of 10% for all alcohol and alcohol related products, to be followed up within 6 months with a further 10% price rise on the lot.

These price rises should also hit the home grog making products market too.

additionally all consuming of ALL alcohol products should be totally banned from all public venues and licensing hours over the entire country should be reduced to far more reasonable hours, say midnight in all clubs and pubs etc.

Do you think I'm goping over the top?

OK, you may think so, but I'm sick to death of seeing the results of alcohol abuse at all levels in this country, and I can see no good reason why my tax dollors should go toward fighting a losing battle against the problems arising from grog abuse.

I've also been forced to attend too many funerals of innocent bystanders killed due to bloody idiot's bad habits while they walk away from it all almost Scot free.

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

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@**meep** wrote:

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@siggie-reported-by-alarmists wrote:

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@**meep** wrote:

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@siggie-reported-by-alarmists wrote:

I forgot to add.....teaching children to drink responsibly, doesn't require either the adult or child to have a drink in their hands.

)

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I'd  hope not, otherwise I would have to exclude my child from PDHPE classes.

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Well, I see it like this....drug education classes, don't require the students to share a crack pipe with the teacher...because, well, that would be insane!

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It also sends children mixed messages.

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Exactly.....

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

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@punch*drunk wrote:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/11/17/14/25/wants-tougher-booze-laws

NSW Labor wants to lock people out of Sydney pubs and clubs in the early morning and to restrict the hours licensed premises can serve drinks to help reduce alcohol-fuelled violence.

The state opposition says it is committed to restrictions in Kings Cross and the Sydney city centre that would stop patrons being admitted to venues after 1am.

It also wants 3am last drinks and bans on high-alcohol content drinks after 10pm.

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The ban on high-alcoholic drinks after 10pm will be interesting...... That won't go down well with patrons.

[punch*drunk]

The ban on high-alcoholic drinks after 10pm will be interesting...... That won't go down well with patrons.

I do wish these news reports would be clearer, its like they make things vague on purpose nowdays.

What exactly constitutes a high alcohol drink I wonder?

Do they mean drinks with double shots, spirits in general or maybe they'll drop to only serving light beer? It would make things kind of complicated for bars if they could serve some cocktails/mixed drinks and not others.

Still its a step in the right direction I think.

But I think the bar owners will be just as unhappy as the patrons, a lot less dollars running through the tills.

[i-need-a-martini]

But how does that solve anything siggie?

Most binge drinkers start at home. The boy that king hit Thomas Kelly was already blotto by the time he hit the city. So drunk he couldn't remember getting into the city. So drunk he couldn't remember hitting the boy when he saw it on the news next day.

Personally I think the problem has little to do with clubs and hotels.

[topsidesoul]

From talking to bartenders, rum seems to be the spirit that makes people a little bit more punchy.

[siggie-reported-by-alarmists]

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@punch*drunk wrote:

The ban on high-alcoholic drinks after 10pm will be interesting...... That won't go down well with patrons.

I do wish these news reports would be clearer, its like they make things vague on purpose nowdays.

What exactly constitutes a high alcohol drink I wonder?

Do they mean drinks with double shots, spirits in general or maybe they'll drop to only serving light beer? It would make things kind of complicated for bars if they could serve some cocktails/mixed drinks and not others.

Still its a step in the right direction I think.

But I think the bar owners will be just as unhappy as the patrons, a lot less dollars running through the tills.

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Shots for one I would imagine.....and I agree the bar owners wouldn' be happy either.....10pm is early to club goers.....possibly only arriving at the clubs at this time.......

[punch*drunk]

Oh yeah, I was forgetting about shots. They werent as popular back in my day lol.

I dont like the new trend of mixing alcohol with energy drinks, it really tends to ramp up the craziness.

[purple.cow]

I got too busy on other things away from here to get back to this earlier, but it looks like things have taken a few twists and turns since I last read the thread, so I'll just try to bring it back on coarse a little by suggesting that a start to dealing with the idiot problem connected with alcohol would be to have a federal law enforcing DOUBLE ZERO for ALL drivers, no matter what the circumstances.

That might at least save a few innocent lives on our roads.

To take things a step further I also suggest that any person being catch with ANY level of alcohol in their system while driving any vehicle should have that vehicle seized immediately to become the property of the government, thus rendering it possible for them to sell the vehicle without hindrance.

Also an automatic mandatory prison sentence be imposed upon the offender of 5 years minimum term.

Furthermore ALL public advertising of ALL alcohol products cease immediately.

Perhaps the same plain labeling laws be applied to all alcohol products that were bought in on all smoking products too.

OK, that might not solve much, just as I don't believe it did with tobacco products,, but at least it would take away the 'Glamour' from the product.

At least these measures would be a small step in the right direction while saving lives.

[acacia_pycnantha]

We're not going to change the problem of Australia's alcohol-idiots  until and unless we change our culture.

All the fines in the world, all the restrictions on sales times, all the restrictions on the amount one can drink before driving won't mean a thing until we change our culture so that mindless, binge-drinking, low-brow misogynist bogans cease to be the predominant representatives of our youth and of far too many of those who are old enough to know and to act better than they do.

[purple.cow]

While mostly I agree with you Acacia I don't think it will help anything if nothing is done at all, and perhaps, just perhaps the starting measure I suggested would prove to make even a small inroad into the problem when connected to our road tolls every year.

Even one drunken driver removed may result in one less senseless death or terrible injury.

I had hoped that the proposed law concerning king hitting resulting in death would take a real stand and bring in mandatory sentencing of a minimum sentence of 20 years, but just like all things in this country when it comes to making REAL laws the polies suffered lack of intestinal fortitude once again.

How many have to die needlessly in this country before we say enough is enough, and hit back with meaningful laws?

I tend to believe that all the BSing about topics such as Carbon Taxes etc. is only a means of escaping the dealing of real problem for our polies in this country.