Think twice about a boozy Xmas

Jackie Hallam explains that there is more to fear from getting drunk than just the shame and embarrassment

THIS is not another opinion piece telling you to stop drinking. Our national policy assumes that you will understand the risk of drinking and make the necessary changes to reduce your personal risk of developing health problems from your alcohol use.

It is well-known that hitting it too hard can result in a nasty hangover, as well as anti-social behaviour and other negative outcomes.

But the risks also include dying from cancers proven to be caused by risky drinking levels.

Many Australians may still be in the dark about what qualifies as risky drinking, and the health consequences it can cause.

It is worth noting that your author is not a wowser nor do I exhibit wowser tendencies. I am just like most people, prone to making mistakes and using alcohol in an unhealthy way.

Here is a stat for you — 62 per cent of the world’s population abstain from alcohol.

This can of course be explained by variables such as poverty and religion.

Globally speaking, alcohol use is not normal.

As an Australian, I had assumed it was.

Alcohol is embedded in the social fabric of Aussie society, and can seem inescapable.

If we look at Tasmania, according to the 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, just under 20 per cent of us are “lifetime risky drinkers”, this is in relation to the amount of alcohol consumed across the lifespan and the link to developing an alcohol-related disease.

A quarter of Tasmanians are “single occasion risky drinkers”, this is about the amount of alcohol consumed on a single occasion, commonly known as binge drinking, that manifests in lowered inhibitions and capacity leading to a greater risk of injury and risk-taking.

Most people know someone who has run into trouble related to their, or someone else’s, alcohol use.

What is less understood in society is the evidence that shows the clear link between alcohol and cancer.

Health campaigns have often focused on the links between tobacco and cancer, but the connection between chronic disease and alcohol is less well-known.

According to Cancer Council NSW’s website: “There is strong evidence that alcohol use increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, stomach, bowel, liver and breast.”

If you raise this, you will most likely hear, “well we have to die of something”, such is the connection we have with alcohol.

Ask any medical practitioner dealing with the end result and they will tell you that such cancers linked to alcohol consumption are entirely preventable.

For most people, the message is to limit use, not to abstain.

The National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines state that: “For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any day reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.

“For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.”

Prevention is an area of focus worth investing in, making sure that individuals understand the risks clearly.

However, there are a lot of unseen factors driving our drinking patterns.

We need to take a closer look at so-called Big Alcohol (encompassing producers, marketers, distributors and retailers of alcohol) and their tactics to increase profits.

The relationship between industry and government is another area worth scrutinising.

Should unhealthy commodity producers whose primary interest is making profit be involved in health governance? If you ask public health experts, the answer is a definite no.

The festive season is almost upon us, and it is a time when alcohol is abundant and it is easy to overindulge, and to do so often.

Although it might seem to go against the cheer of the Christmas period, it is worth keeping the risks associated with alcohol, and the guidelines outlining how to mitigate these risks, at the forefront of our minds.

If you notice yourself or others around you developing an unhealthy relationship with the drink, it is always better to identify and address the problem when it is smaller rather than let it go to when it develops into something that is harder to treat.

For information on how to address concerns about your alcohol-use or access treatment, you can reach out to Tasmanian community service organisations or the Alcohol and Drug Service. Dr Jackie Hallam is the Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council of Tasmania policy and research officer. The ATDC is the peak body representing the interests of community sector groups that provide services to people with substance misuse issues in Tasmania. The ATDC is a member-based, independent, not-for-profit and incorporated organisation and the key body advocating for adequate systemic support and funding for the delivery of evidencebased alcohol, tobacco and other drug initiatives.

What is less understood in society is the evidence that shows the clear link between alcohol and cancer.