Technical Paper 3:
Preventing Alcohol-related harm in Australia: a window of opportunity
5.4 - Opportunities for action
Table of contents
Reflecting on the evidence regarding the determinants of harmful consumption of alcohol, as gleaned from the review of interventions earlier in this paper, is perhaps a starting point for considering what the priorities for action should be. In general:
- When alcohol availability increases, alcohol-related harms are likely to increase
- When alcohol availability decreases, alcohol-related harms are likely to decrease
- When alcohol prices decrease in real terms, alcohol-related harms are likely to increase
- When alcohol prices increase in real terms, alcohol-related harms are likely to decrease.
As the NDRI (2007) suggests, ‘where the ultimate aim of decision makers is to minimise or reduce the negative impact of alcohol on the public health, safety and amenity of a population, best practice is that which is evidence-based and at very least, avoids implementing changes likely to increase overall availability above the current status quo’.
Government decision making relating to the availability in Australia, whether it be liquor licensing decisions or changes to the excise rates of particular alcohol products, tends to be reactionary. As an alternative, NDRI (2007) suggests that ‘authorities and decision makers might consider adopting a pro-active style – one which acknowledges the links between alcohol availability and harms and which plans accordingly. Optimally, such an approach would: include policy and strategies based on sound research evidence for efficacy and/or have a solid theoretical grounding; include processes which support the ongoing, systematic collection of detailed objective data for monitoring and evaluation purposes; employ evaluation findings to inform and support future evidence-based decisions and reliable monitoring of community sentiment.’
Of course, ‘supply reduction’ measures that restrict availability are not the single solution to addressing the harmful consumption of alcohol – harm reduction and demand reduction measures are also important and very necessary. Maintaining and building on Australia’s impressive track record in drink-driving countermeasures is an obvious element to include in an overall preventative strategy, but it should not be taken for granted, especially given the powerful cultural forces surrounding alcohol in Australia that could undermine, stall or, worse still, reverse the gains made in preventing and reducing alcohol-related road injuries and fatalities. Brief interventions are known to be one of the most effective preventative measures and more work is needed to examine the most appropriate setting for such an approach. Along with the usual health settings considered, workplaces provide a window of opportunity for reaching thousands of Australians at the early stages of problematic drinking. This also opens an opportunity for novel partnerships. The success of prevention in other areas of public health, such as tobacco control, tells us that social marketing is a key element that is necessary to inform target audiences, shift attitudes and positively reinforce behaviour changes being driven by other complementary measures, such as restrictions on availability, regulation and enforcement.