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Yasmin -
submitted 5/05/2009
I have seen the 'nightmare' campaigns on TV and i think that they are effective along side other campaigns such as drink driving.
But i think that Australia's biggest problem with binge drinking is that they prohibit it too much and have created a culture where it has become something forbidden until the legal age of 18, making it something most want to try when they are 14.
Alcohol is treated with a very different attitude here then it is in other countries like Holland or Germany where drinking isn't a problem. Here alcohol is something you do when you are bored or have a party, you drink it for no other reason then to drink alcohol and skull it down like coke. This attitude should change, alcoholic drinks themselves need to be respected, parents should let kids drink a glass of champagne every now and them so that they grow up not being so aware of the ban against drinking.
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Ella -
submitted 6/05/2009
I do agree that binge drinking is a serious issue among the youth of today. Ever since i was 18 i have spent countless weekends literally carrying my friends home because they can't walk due to the amount they have had to drink i am now 22.
I also think that the fact you can't taste hardly any of the alcohol in the alchopops is an issue however i don't think this is as simple as issue as the media and government are making out. As the recent studies have shown just simply putting the price up isn't going to stop young teens buying it and it's not going to stop them from drinking. They will just find something else to drink.
I personally don't think there is enough education is schools about it and there isn't enough education available for parents about it, it is skimmed over in health classes and the education ends there.
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Ella -
submitted 6/05/2009
cont.
As far as the commercial the government have put out, no i don't think it is effective, that kind of stuff does not scare teens of this generation we have been decensitised to it, from other things we have seen in the media, in movies and in real life, what was shown is nothing to us. It needs to be much more harsh.
Fake Id's also play a huge part in this problem i know of several girls(younger than me) that have been caught with fake ID's and have just had the ID handed back to them so they continue to use it. i don't know if that is legal or not but that is what happens.
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Danie -
submitted 7/05/2009
Young people binge drinking is not a new phenomenon; I don't think we can ever stop it. Instead, I believe the best thing we can do is equip young people with the tools they need to survive it through the provision of knowledge and harm minimisation strategies.
There are lots of these programs already out there in the community; maybe instead of re-inventing the wheel the government can support existing programs around Australia. For example in SA the Australian Red Cross do a terrific job at delivering the Save-A-Mate program which is a harm minimisation peer education program that also has an first aid for A&D emergencies component. Participants walk away with knowledge on D&A, how to look after themselves and their mates when their partying and a certificate in CPR and EAR. This should be a mandate component of year 9 or 10 education. Another example is Party House, a theatrical play put on by the Southern Youth Theatre Ensemble. This interactive play promotes awareness of real life party situations such as sexual abuse, violence etc. and involves the audience to create strategies to either avoid or control these events.
Programs such as these are proven to have a real impact on young people and will equip them with knowledge on both strategies to avoid the dangers present with binge drinking and how to safely handle dangerous situations should they happen.
We can’t stop it, so why not equip young people with the tools they need to survive it.
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Jessie and Gemma -
submitted 8/05/2009
We think it is a problem because teens get pressured into drinking alcohol to increase their popularity. AND IT IS STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Anonymous -
submitted 8/05/2009
More awareness of the consequences drinking can cause
scare tactic
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Kert -
submitted 9/05/2009
Instead of giving venues licenses to serve alcohol, require that customers have licenses that entitle them to drink alcohol. Drivers require a license to drink, so drinkers require a license to drink alcohol. Venues cannot serve anyone who doesn't have an alcohol license. To get an alcohol license, individuals must show they are capable of drinking and understand the risks. If they binge, they can lose their license.
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Lauren -
submitted 9/05/2009
when going to a party and where there are minors invited the underage drinkers should have a note from their parents and the car keys given to the host of the party. they should only be allowed to drink what they bring and dont have anything else to drink. this has been done before and has worked so why dont we give it a go. its called RESPONSIBILITY.
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Cam -
submitted 11/05/2009
What we need to do first is realize that alcohol is not the problem, every binge drinker has a motivation for drinking as much as they do and those issues are the real problems that need addressing. Likewise, alcohol does not *cause* people to become violent; it simply dulls ones inhibitions. In the case of someone who is (perhaps secretly) an angry person, this brings their anger out in to the open. Likewise, it is the persons anger here that should be tackled, as noone should have to have this demon constantly eating away at them.
I think that we need to stem the violence by starting as young as possible. Teach very young school children that violence is unacceptable. Don't we as a nation believe that violence is ONLY acceptible in live-or-death protection circumstances? Let's drum that in to our kids as if it's a bigger priority than teaching them that 2x2=4. Even if we have to tell kids that a parents advice, "it's okay to throw are punch," is dead wrong. Let's foster tollerance at a young age by informing kids that they will strike a wide variety of beliefs, pollitical allegiances, races, sporting affiliations, religions, sexual orientations, intelligences, passions and financial classes in their life, and that they ALL have a right to be treated civilly, not matter what grievances might develop between them and other individuals.
By building a calmer and more tollerant community we decrease our propensity for violence.
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Anonymous -
submitted 11/05/2009
Alcohol consumption is promoted as something you get to do as an adult, and something that people do when they celebrate. Children and young people see it represented in this way all the time in the media, and it is something that they get to do when they are "old enough".
It needs to be tackled in a variety of ways (I have already voted for some of the other ideas posted, eg harm minimisation, decision making strategies, anti-violence education).
Like tobacco sponsorships of the past, alcohol sponsorships for sport, etc. promote the consumption of alcohol. This is one issue in which I agree with a Liberal party member!
If we want to reduce it, then moderate alcohol consumption needs to be "normalised", with refusal of additional drinks seen as a respected, in control, "Macho" thing to do.