NEWS: News.com.au - 6/08/07 'Generational alcohol abuse crisis'

[lil angel15]

Generational alcohol abuse crisis
August 06, 2007 04:18am

THE health system is about to be swamped by millions of Australians suffering alcohol-related brain injury.

And to make the situation worse, most of them are unaware they have a problem.

Results of research to be released today claims the drinking habits of as many as two million Australians place them at risk of permanent brain damage.

The research conducted for the arbias (Acquired Brain Injury Assessment and Consulting) group by the Roy Morgan organisation said men who have six drinks a day for eight-to-ten years and women who have three drinks a day over the same period are at risk of alcohol-related brain injury.

Arbias CEO Sonia Berton is calling on the Federal Government and the alcohol industry to fund a $20 million education campaign to raise awareness and provide treatment for the problem.

"It's absolutely horrific and it's time people were told," Ms Berton said.

"Alcohol-related brain injury affects as many as one-in-eight Australians."

Ms Berton said one of the reasons the problem is so pervasive is a binge-drinking culture.

"Many people are simply unaware they are living with alcohol-related brain impairment until the damage is so severe," she said.

"Because Australia has moved to ... a binge drinking culture, something has to be done.

"In the next 10 years treatment providers will be swamped with alcohol-related issues."

Arbias, whose work is supported by such institutions as the Australian Drug Foundation, the Mental Health Council of Australia and the Alcohol Education Research Foundation, today launched its Hangover For Life campaign to draw attention to the extent of the problem.

The arbias research shows that few people are aware of how much they can drink before they become permanently affected.

Clinical psychologist and arbias board member Martin Jackson said the community suffered from an "incredible lack of knowledge" of the issue.

"People often get brain damage long before they actually get sick," Dr Jackson said.

"By the time these people show up in the health system, unfortunately they have often lost jobs, families and their thinking abilities.

"People don't realise how easy it is to drink at hazardous levels - a bottle of wine with dinner every night is potentially hazardous."

More information on alcohol-related brain damage can be found on the arbias website at www.arbias.org.au.

News.com.au

 

[lil angel15]

Millions of Australians at risk from alcohol consumption

The levels of alcohol that will place you at risk of brain damage is three standard drinks per day for a woman and six per day for men for an eight-year period.

A campaign has been launched to raise awareness of alcohol-related brain damage.

The chief executive of Alcohol Related Brain Injury Australian Services, Sonia Berton, says 2 million Australians are at risk of brain damage because of the large amounts of alcohol they are consuming.

She says there are many misconceptions about the problem which is brought about by consuming between three and six alcoholic drinks a day over about nine years.

"The Hangover for Life campaign is about educating Australians in the area of alcohol-related brain damage," she said.

"And it was clear from the results of the Roy Morgan survey that many Australians don't know the early warning signs to look out for, the symptoms to look out for and really how to prevent what is essentially a preventable disability."

"The levels of alcohol that will place you at risk of alcohol-related brain damage - now for a female it is around three standard drinks per day or more and for men it's around six standard drinks per day, for an eight-year period. Now for many Australians, this is considered to be no more than social drinking."

ABC Online

 

[lil angel15]

Excess drinking has harmed 200,000 Australians, one in eight at risk
Stephen Lunn and Kim Christian
August 06, 2007 12:00am

AUSTRALIANS are exposing themselves to an epidemic of undiagnosed brain damage because of excessive drinking, according to a new study.

A survey released today found more than 200,000 Australians are unaware they are living with brain injuries because of their abuse of alcohol.
Worse, an estimated two million people – or one in eight adults – are at serious risk of joining them due to the amounts they consume, health experts have warned.

Two men whose lives have been devastated by brain damage caused by alcohol today backed calls for a federal alcohol education campaign to help those at risk.

Former barrister Graeme Alford and former draftsman Kevin Clarke, who began drinking socially in their teens and later suffered alcohol-related brain injuries, today spoke about how long-term heavy drinking almost wrecked their lives.

Mr Alford said he grew up in an "alcohol injected culture" and by the age of 28 was drinking up to 30 beers per day after work.

"I just didn't see it happening," Mr Alford said.

"Everyone around me who was close to me did, but I thought they were wrong because it's a mind altering drug."

He said he lost 40 points from his IQ before a stint in prison for armed robbery made him wake up to himself.

"This is by far the most insidious drug in Australia," he said.

"If we don't make a start now, what we will finish up with is a generation down the track that have this terrible disease, brain damage."

Mr Clarke says he was working as a draftsman when he started drinking heavily.

At one point he was consuming 24 cans of beer and a bottle of vodka every 24 hours while living in a factory after his marriage broke up.

"It (alcohol) crept up on me," he said.

"It would be after work beers with the boys and coming home and further drinking.

"I used to think that grog was everywhere, but it wasn't. I chose to go where the grog was."

The research shows 70 per cent of men and 60 per cent of women have no clue about the volume of alcohol required to put them at risk of suffering brain damage.

The Roy Morgan survey shows one in five women believe they can consume four standard drinks a day over eight to 10 years without incurring brain damage; the reality is drinking at that level puts them at "significant risk".

A standard drink is equivalent to one 285ml beer, less than a can, or 100ml of wine, considerably less than the usual glass served at a restaurant or bar.

Disturbingly, 20 per cent of males aged 14 to 17 believe they can drink up to 20 standard drinks a day for eight to 10 years before risking brain damage, when the actual amount is six or more standard drinks. For women, the level is much lower at three or more standard drinks a day over the same period.

The survey was commissioned by not-for-profit alcohol treatment group Arbias, supported by a raft of top agencies including the Mental Health Council of Australia and the Australian Drug Foundation.

Arbias chief executive Sonia Berton said so many people were already affected, and so many more were on their way to alcohol-related brain damage that "a health crisis clearly beckoned".

"It's slow, progressive and ultimately this damage affects a person's thinking, emotions, communication and ability to care for themselves," she said.

She said the damage was not confined to one demographic, affecting young and old, rich and poor, black and white, male and female.

"People need to understand that it's not a question of how much you have to drink to sustain an alcohol-related brain injury, but how little."

Courier Mail