05 December 2008

Australian Health Ministers' Council meeting: alcohol advertising

A plan to curb irresponsible use of alcohol advertising has been considered by Australian Health Ministers at a meeting today in Brisbane who resolved to take further action.

The Ministers agreed to ask the Ministerial Council of Drug Strategy and the National Preventative Health Taskforce to look into the issue of alcohol advertising and its impact on the community.

NSW Minister for Health, John Della Bosca, said he was pleased to see the debate had moved forward.

"The Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers shared New South Wales' view that the debate around alcohol advertising is one we need to have," the Minister said.

"The Commonwealth Minister, Nicola Roxon suggested this issue should be presented to the National Preventative Health Taskforce for consideration.

"The Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy has the power to recommend changes to alcohol and drug policy including advertising.

"This is about curbing reckless advertising that promotes a culture of binge drinking.

"The Garling Report released last week has echoed our view that we need to focus on prevention when dealing with health and young people. Responsible advertising feeds into this strategy," Mr Della Bosca said.

"The data and evidence, as well as anecdotal accounts point to a link between irresponsible alcohol advertising and high risk drinking - particularly by young people.

"We are taking the steps now to prevent a new generation of binge drinkers," he said.

The cost of alcohol abuse to the community nationally is estimated to be more than $15 billion which is mostly made up of sick days, road accidents and healthcare.

Nationally, it is estimated that a total advertising ban could reduce:

• drinking by 25 per cent and road fatalities by 30 per cent;
• social costs of alcohol abuse by $3.86 billion; and
• social costs of road accidents by $960 million.

"There is no simple response to deal with alcohol abuse - it is a complex area.

"There is a lot of support for this issue in the community and I am going to see that it gets the attention it deserves," the Minister added.

For a range of health information, go online to www.health.nsw.gov.au