Alcohol Misuse (Literature Review)

Alcohol misuse is common in Australia today. While moderate drinking might not pose health hazards, excessive drinking has a number of negative effects. As a result, a number of policy assessments have been developed to evaluate the current drinking “culture” in Australia (Winstanley et al., 2011). In addition, alcohol misuse is one of the main causes of death, illness and injury in Australia (Petrie, 2007).

People who excessively use alcohol are at risk for a number of negative health effects. For example, alcohol misuse can lead to obesity, greater body mass and cancers of the esophagus, kidney, bowel, pancreas and endometrial (Winstanley et al., 2011). In fact, Winstanley and colleagues (2011) suggest that any level of alcohol use is associated with increased risk of cancer. In addition, alcohol consumption negatively affects sleep quality. (Selvan & Williamson, 2012). Therefore, researchers advise that is best to avoid drinking alcohol before going to bed (Selvan & Williamson, 2012). Due to these negative effects, the increased per capita consumption (PCC) of alcohol is worrying, especially in the face of increased attention within the community to these problems (Chikritzhs et al., 2011).

The misuse of alcohol and other drugs has also been associated with harmful effects on the brain (Brown & Kelly, 2012). Alcohol abuse is also linked to impulsivity, aggression and inhibition of social rules, bad judgment and dulling of the senses (Shahid et al., 2013). Additionally, alcohol use is associated with lack of social support, a sense of isolation, suicide attempts, incarceration, family history of mental disorders and substance abuse as well as major medical illnesses such as cancer (Shahid et al., 2013).

Research undertaken across a range of fields, including economics, criminology, and public health, indicate a possible relationship between alcohol availability, alcohol consumption and criminal behaviour such as driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol (Christopher & Dobkin, 2010). Additionally, Cook and Moore (1993) suggests that increasing beer tax the rate of criminal activity has been shown to decrease.

Researchers have also investigated links among siblings with respect to alcohol (McAndrewr et al., 2010). The results indicated that siblings of the same gender were concordant in their alcohol use; however, siblings of different genders were not similar (McAndrew et al., 2010). This confirms that genetics relationships can play an important role in alcohol-related behaviours (McAndrew et al., 2010). This link might be due to genetics or parenting (McAndrew et al., 2010).

Alcohol consumption in Australia became an important issue in 1991. As a result, a number of taxes have been levied. For example, an excise tax on ready-to-drink spirits (“alcopops tax”) was imposed in 2008 (Chikritzhs et al., 2010). However, these taxes do not appear to have completely alleviated the problem (Chikritzhs et al., 2010). Thus, it is important that policy be informed by accurate data on the issue from Australian society (Chikritzhs et al., 2010).

When considering what these policies might be, it is important to understand the harms that alcohol can have within Australian society. The negative effect of alcohol-related harms to Australian society are considerable, with approximately 75% of adult Australians affected negatively by someone else’s drinking of alcohol (Chikritzhs et al., 2010). These analyses suggest that the health sector is unable to significantly reduce drinking among medium-risk and high-risk drinkers. However, enforcement of liquor licensing rules, policies and injury reduction plans might be solutions (Petrie, 2007).

For many, consuming alcohol is enjoyable within Australian culture. For example, Selvanathan and Selvanathan (2005) concluded that alcohol is important within Australian culture. This suggests that social drinking facilitated the enjoyment of holiday and special events (Inderbitzen, 2010).