Foreigners call us “the lucky country”, but these days I find that hard to believe.
An increase in national self-obsession by the media has created a communal perception in which Australia is seemingly a “better” country than others across the world. I am of the opinion that this has caused young Australians to be too relaxed when approaching serious matters, particularly when drawing the line between “a good time” and “taking it too far”. Issues such as school bullying are ever-present and cause a high number of youth suicides each year. We are also a nation of glorified sporting “heroes”, yet the scientific and academic achievements of our residents goes greatly unnoticed. Our television networks cater towards a collective of lazy, uneducated, and easily distracted teenagers and 20-somethings, with the only source of intellectual inspiration stemming from our government-run television stations, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). But one of the most alarming issues in this contemporary society of ours is the approach to the young Australian binge drinking culture.
Amazingly, it is as if we as a nation are tolerant of heavy alcohol consumption. The most recent national survey regarding alcohol consumption in Australia was conducted an astonishing 5 years ago during the 2004-05 National Health Survey. Relative to the size of our population, the figures regarding alcohol-related deaths are incredible. Operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol is the main cause of death on Australian roads, equating to about 1/3 of the total national road toll. Alcohol consumption is also the second largest cause of drug-related deaths and hospitalisations (after tobacco). Binge drinking is rife among adolescent Australians due to our relaxed attitude towards providing alcohol to minors and the generally laid-back attitude of too many Australians. Granted, the government has attempted to thwart this issue through the use of print and television campaigns, but one can argue that they are simply not working. The problem stems from the parents’ approach to drinking in general and the influence this has on young, developing minds. I myself was lucky enough to have a father who does not drink and a mother who rarely does, but many young Australians are not so fortunate.
So how do we solve this issue?
We get tough.
I am not suggesting we ban the sale of alcohol altogether, people still have the right to drink, however, I feel that the problem needs to be addressed from a few angles. I firstly propose that we raise the drinking age to 21 years. Understandably, this will have more critics than followers among young Australians, but if as a collective they don’t even know when to stop drinking during a night out then they are obviously not in the position to make mature decisions regarding alcohol consumption. Let’s not kid ourselves, there will always be potential ways for minors to obtain alcohol, even without the help of their peers, however, I do believe that an extension of 3 years on the current drinking age will encourage and allow adolescents to learn vital lessons regarding life, maturity, responsibility, and acceptable social behaviour.
Advertising against under-age and binge drinking must be more direct. Instead of hiring an actress to represent what may go wrong during a night of underage drinking, we must encourage those who have made mistakes in the past to tell their stories regarding alcohol, and to verbally abuse the parents who purchase alcohol for their children and those who binge-drink on a regular basis. In the nineties, telling drivers they were “bloody idiots” for drink driving proved effective in combating driving under the influence during the time in which the campaign was run on national television. After all, no one likes realising that they are, in fact, a bloody idiot. This, along with harsher penalties for supplying alcohol to minors and the complete outlawing of underage drinking in private residences, would serve as a wake-up call to those who consistently approach drinking in an irresponsible and immature way. All alcohol advertising, like tobacco advertising, must be banned from all mediums. The sport of rugby should promote fitness and a healthy lifestyle among Australians, rather than the purchase and consumption of XXXX Gold or Bundaberg Rum.
It still amazes me that most people are unaware that alcohol is actually a drug which can cause the same mental and physical trauma as illicit drugs. Particularly as it is a drug which most people will use and abuse over the course of their entire adult lives. Alcohol is a depressant, it severely limits one’s inhibitions and motor functions, limiting reaction speed and cognitive ability. Think about it the next time you are enjoying a night out and have had one too many. You will have difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech and an impaired memory – crystal clear indications that alcohol affects the brain in a detrimental way. Not to mention you will look like an idiot and be easy prey for potential attackers (an ever-growing crisis involving brain damage-causing king-hits is rampant within Australia today and I will touch on this in a later post).
In the sixties, scientists discovered that the brain generates new neurons in adulthood, a process known as neurogenesis. The new cells originate from stem cells, which are cells that can divide indefinitely, renew themselves, and give rise to a variety of cell types. In layman’s terms, your brain can create new brain cells. However, studies with animals have shown that high doses of alcohol inhibit the growth of these new brain cells. This is particularly upsetting when one must consider that the brain is still growing in size during one’s teenage years. Heavy drinking will also take its toll on the body. Long-term effects such as chronic liver disease (cirrhosis), damage to the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy) and nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy) have all been proven. And by the way, women are more susceptible to these conditions than men and will generally take less years of drinking to achieve this.
If you are interested in more facts regarding alcohol-related conditions, I urge you to consult these sources:
· Alcohol’s Damaging Effects on the Brain
· The Effects of Alcohol on the Body
I am awe-struck by the fact that too many young people are drinking on a daily basis or binge drinking when the results can be so terrifying. Either they are unaware of the negative effects of alcohol consumption (which I seriously doubt) or they simply do not care (which I don’t doubt at all). The only question left to ask is, “Why are young Australians doing this to themselves?”
If you are a young Australian reading this and are still questioning why I’ve written this, it’s simple.
Control the drinking, don’t let it control you. Let’s make the population proud of our generation, instead of simply watching them roll their eyes in disgust.
