Kiwis’ unhealthy love affair
Too many New Zealanders drink alcohol too much, too fast and too young, Matt Claridge of social change group The Tomorrow Project tells Brittany Keogh
Ayear ago Matt Claridge’s attitude to drinking was: “If you’re offered a drink, drink it, if someone tops up your drink, take it.” However, since December last year, when he took on a new job, his own drinking behaviour changed.
His role is executive director at The Tomorrow Project — a social change organisation that aims to change many New Zealanders’ unhealthy relationships with alcohol.
Before he picks up a bottle, he thinks about his reasons for drinking and the effect it might have on those around him, particularly his four kids.
“I now understand exactly what alcohol does to my body and how I react to it,” he told the Herald.
“One standard drink generally takes one hour for the body to process. If I sat down and I had seven or eight 5 per cent strength beers and finished drinking about midnight, by the time I take my kids to sport on a Saturday morning I’m still processing that alcohol.”
It’s knowledge like this that Claridge wants to pass on to others, to help curb the some of the dangerous drinking behaviours highlighted in New Zealand’s results in the 2016 Global Drug Survey.
Although the majority of Kiwis — about four-fifths — drink responsibly, the study found a significant number are drinking too much, too fast and sometimes too young, Claridge said.
“Unfortunately, more than half of all teenagers aged 15 to 17 have had a drink in the last year. The scary thing is their mums and dads don’t really know about it.”
Young adults were also likely to engage in harmful drinking behaviours, the survey found, with 37 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 saying they drank alcohol to get drunk.
The Tomorrow Project is committed to changing statistics like these, Claridge said.
Its website states it’s a social change initiative of beer, wine and spirit producers funded by the Brewers Association, Distilled Spirits Association and New Zealand Winegrowers.
The Tomorrow Project works with other organisations such as the Health Promotion Agency to identify people of particular demographic groups — young people, who are most at risk of bingeing, and parents or teenagers — and provides them with information about healthy drinking behaviour using social media and targeted digital advertising campaigns.
“We don’t tell people what to do, we just like to have a conversation and give people the information that they need to help make a better decision.”
It also promotes healthy drinking behaviour within the alcohol industry by helping to organise and exhibit at food and beverage events and expos.
But the most crucial way to change how young people in particular are drinking is at home, by encouraging parents to think about their own habits, Claridge said.
“All our research shows parents are the number one role model for teenagers. They are the single most important influencer of the values and attitudes that teenagers develop towards drinking.
“We want to talk to mums and dads and just say, ‘oh hey, before you crack the beer open or the wine, just where are the kids? And how are you going to drink it?’ Because they’ll observe and they’ll absorb [behaviours].”
Claridge said the initiative was more than just a “box ticking” exercise. “When you’re trying to change or fix a problem in society, you need everybody who’s part of the problem to be part of the solution as well. Everyone makes it really clear, alcohol can be dangerous if it’s consumed in the manner that it’s not intended.
“For those that do go out and drink irresponsibly, they do tarnish the practice of drinking.”
Involving alcohol producers, wholesalers and retailers in changing unhealthy drinking culture was beneficial, Claridge said, because they knew the market and what the problems were.
A similar industry-led initiative, DrinkWise, had been set up in Australia and was proven to be effective, Claridge said.
The goal of The Tomorrow Project isn’t to stop Kiwis drinking, instead it’s to change how they are drinking and get them to rethink why.
“Too many people drink to get drunk and that leads to a whole lot of social problems — whether it’s memory loss, spending too much money, putting yourself at physical harm or risk, but also, when drink too much every day you expose yourself to long-term health risks. There’s a long-term happy medium to achieve.
“Alcohol’s there for a good time, it should make a good time better but unfortunately, for those that have the wrong idea or the wrong intent with alcohol, it doesn’t do either — it just ruins a night and it can be socially suicidal.”