Open AccessDiverging trends in alcohol consumption and alcohol‐related harm in Victoria
Author(s) -
Livingston Michael,
Matthews Sharon,
Barratt Monica J.,
Lloyd Belinda,
Room Robin
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2010.00568.x
Subject(s) - harm , environmental health , alcohol consumption , injury prevention , alcohol , poison control , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , medicine , human factors and ergonomics , public health , demography , population , psychology , social psychology , biology , biochemistry , nursing , pathology , sociology
Objective:To examine recent trends in alcohol‐related harm and risky drinking in Victoria, Australia.Methods:The study compiled eight measures of alcohol‐related harm from published and unpublished sources, covering data relating to health, crime, alcohol treatment and traffic crashes for the financial years 1999/2000 to 2007/08. In addition, published estimates of short and long‐term risky drinking from three‐sets of surveys between 2001 and 2007 were examined.Results:Six of the eight harm indicators substantially increased, while only alcohol‐related mortality and single‐vehicle night‐time crashes remained relatively stable. In particular, rates of emergency presentations for intoxication and alcohol‐related ambulance attendances increased dramatically. Contrastingly, survey‐derived estimates of the rate of risky‐drinking among Victorians were stable over the time‐period examined.Conclusions:Evidence across the data examined suggests significant increases in alcohol‐related harm taking place during a period of relatively stable alcohol consumption levels. This disparity may be accounted for by changing drinking patterns among small, high‐risk, subgroups of the population.Implications:The sharply increasing rates of alcohol‐related harm among Victorians suggest that changes to alcohol policies focusing on improving public health are necessary.