This VAADA Summary paper outlines AOD related discussion as contained within the inquiries’ final report. It does not express VAADAs views or recommendations on this review.

The summary can be downloaded at: http://www.vaada.org.au/resources/items/2012/04/434031-upload-00001.pdf

The outcome of the Equal Pay Case from Fair Work Australia and implementation of the new SCHCADS (SACS Modern Award) from 1st July 2012 have produced a changing industrial relations environment for disability and community services. The Australian Government has provided funding for education and information sessions to help the sector gain a better understanding of how these changes will impact on the industry, some sessions geared towards employers and some towards employees. The Australian Services Union (ASU) is providing education and information sessions for employees and all community sector workers are encouraged to take advantage of them, so as to understand the changes and their impact.

Do you know enough about Equal Pay?
Come along to a session for you and find out more.

For details on sessions go to http://www.asuvictas.com.au/get-involved/events/event/109-ep1.html
Or register at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LC8QDG7

More info: Tash Wark| 9342 3477 | twark@asuvictas.com.au

Phasing out tobacco will stop the next generation taking up smoking.

Three million Australians continue to smoke and 70,000 young people are recruited into the ranks every year. 15,500 Australians die every year from smoking-related diseases.

IMAGINE that cigarettes did not exist. Now imagine that some plucky upstart – let’s call them Philip Morris – invented them and went to the regulators for approval to sell their product in the Australian market.

You can hear the laughter coming out of the offices of Product Safety Australia as these new inventors explain that they want to commercialise a product that has the perverse combination of being both highly addictive and highly deadly. Even a product as loathsome as asbestos – completely banned in Australia in 2003 – only shares one of these characteristics.

Yet this is not the world we live in. We live in a world in which the mass commercialisation of cigarettes in the early 20th century rapidly outpaced our understanding of their health consequences. We live in a world in which 15,500 Australians die every year from smoking-related diseases – more than road accidents, murders, alcohol and other drugs combined. We live in a world in which every year three foreign companies are allowed to take a combined profit of more than $500 million from the Australian market while leaving us with a combined social cost of over $31 billion.

With this Gordian knot tied, the government seems content to pull as hard as it can on one end as the considerable might of the tobacco industry pulls on the other. The government bans cigarette advertising on television and radio; the tobacco industry increases its print media advertising. The government bans cigarette advertising in print media; the tobacco industry increases its sponsorship of sporting events. The government mandates graphic health warnings on cigarette packets; the tobacco industry adjusts the attractiveness of their packaging designs. The government mandates plain packaging; the tobacco industry hires a battalion of silks and runs to the High Court.

This relentless tug of war persists as three million Australians continue to smoke and 70,000 young people are recruited into the ranks every year. No matter how hard the government pulls we can be sure that smoking will remain one of the leading preventable causes of death and disease in Australia for generations to come.

There is of course another way to untie a Gordian knot: by cutting it. The government could mandate that cigarettes can only be sold to a person who is over 18 years of age and was born before the year 2000. This would gradually phase out cigarettes in Australia by forever prohibiting their sale to the next generation – those who are currently 12 years old or younger. It would not be a crime to smoke but there would be heavy penalties for any vendor caught selling cigarettes to someone born after 2000.

This proposal balances the rights of existing smokers and the need to protect children born in this century from the pernicious effects of tobacco addiction. When this idea was raised by a group of oncologists in Singapore in 2010, over 70 per cent of people surveyed supported the plan including 60 per cent of smokers. It seems that even if we smoke ourselves, we can all agree on the need to prevent our kids from joining our ranks. Even British American Tobacco is on the record as saying “we do not want children to smoke and we actively support programs to prevent and reduce under-age smoking”.

Many of us will still be concerned that such a prohibition – as with alcohol in America in the 1920s – will lead to a proliferation of the black market. However, the aim here is not to criminalise cigarettes but to drastically reduce consumption by as yet unaddicted future generations. A teenager would inevitably still be able to source a packet or two of cigarettes from the black market or an older sibling, but they would be much less likely to form or sustain a ‘packet a day’ addiction lasting many years without easy access. If we are trying to reduce cigarette-related deaths by 90 per cent, gradually withdrawing their sale from our petrol stations, supermarkets and 7-Elevens is a sure-fire way to get us there.

Many of us will also be worried about the effect this will have on the tobacco industry and retailers. However, the gradual nature of the proposal means that the tobacco companies and retailers will have decades to exit the industry and devote their productive resources elsewhere. Naturally, money not spent on cigarettes will be spent in other parts of the economy such as clothing and entertainment. Moreover, in contrast to recent proposals to “license” smokers or set a daily limit on the amount of cigarettes they can purchase, the phase-out proposal has the advantage of imposing minimal regulatory costs. It will merely require vendors to check whether the birthdate on a customer’s ID starts with the number two.

Finally, what about those words that sit permanently perched at the tip of any tobacco company’s tongue – what about the “nanny-state”? By that measure, the government should get out of the way and allow companies to start selling heroin, cocaine and other highly addictive and highly deadly drugs at everyday retail outlets. After all, they are consumed by people exercising free will and their commercialisation would create thousands of jobs.

Fortunately, most of us accept that such profits fall into the category of “ill-gotten gains” and demand that our government prohibit the creation of such unscrupulous markets. Yet, despite knowing cigarettes to be a product that will kill half of its long-term users, we are happy to carve out an exception for tobacco companies.

Ultimately, it is very difficult to come up with a good reason that justifies the premature deaths of 15,500 Australians every year. After decades of heaving, we should now accept that this Gordian knot has been pulled as tight as it will go. It is time for the government to pick up a knife and cut the problem in half. The phase-out proposal ensures that current smokers will be unaffected while future generations will be protected.

Cameron Nolan is a Masters of Public Administration Candidate in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. This article won the Australian Fabians Young Writers Competition for 2012.

Sharing and gaining emotional support from people who have been through a similar experience
Mutual learning: learning about oneself from others in the Reducing the stigma and isolation and gaining the sense that you are not alone and that your grief responses are shared by others
Group cohesion: experiencing an increased sense of belonging
Imparting of information and wisdom
Access to a resource library, referral for bereavement counselling
A professional facilitator will lead and foster group interaction that encourages the learning of coping skills and mutual support. The facilitator’s role is not to provide counselling or answers.

Meeting time:
The first Tuesday of the month (except public holidays)
6.30—8.30pm
140 Grange Rd, Carnegie.
Bookings are essential: 9573 1784 or jwynde@sharc.org.au

Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC) is a Victorian community based, not for profit organization, incorporated since 1997.

SHARC provides housing, education, advocacy and family support to members of our community who have been impacted by the effects of alcohol and drug use.

SHARC acknowledges the impact overdose has on both SHARC and wider community .

We are inviting people from the local and neighbouring communities who have been impacted by this loss to join us to launch a reflection tree at SHARC, followed by a lunch together.

This will be on the International Overdose Awareness Day – 31st August 2012
11am-1pm at SHARC
140 Grange Road Carnegie.

RSVP essential for catering purposes to info@sharc.org.au

SHARC acknowledges the value of the harm reduction strategies facilitated over recent years that have played a critical role in reducing overdose death in Victoria.

Underage drinking is a growing problem plaguing many Australian teenagers, many of whom tend to go on drinking binges. Binge drinking or excessive alcoholic consumption can expose them to dangerous situations and serious health problems.

In several Australian states, existing laws only punish suppliers who serve alcohol to minors in licensed establishments, with no legal recourse to help prevent such supply to under-18s at parties held in private homes. Starting on November 1, however, parents in Victoria can take an active role in preventing their children from drinking alcohol at parties as a new law will penalise anyone who supplies minors with alcoholic beverages in private premises.

Parents’ role in preventing underage drinking

Many Australians drink alcohol at home as part of their lifestyle. Such social acceptance of drinking and parental modelling is closely linked to growing statistics of underage drinking. (Source:http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Alcohol_and_teenagers and http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/healthandlifestyle.asp?sid=131&title=Binge-Drinking-%28Alcohol-Intoxication-Disorder%29#C6) Family life is believed to be crucial in preventing problematic social behaviour in children, including underage drinking. Parents are increasingly realizing how their view of alcohol and drinking habits influence their children.

The new law emphasizes the primary role of parents in guiding and protecting their children by penalising supply of alcohol in private parties without their consent. The need for parental consent for underage drinking is so important that its absence can result in liability to anyone caught serving alcohol to minors in parties.

The law will punish minors supplying other minors as well, making it imperative for parents to teach their children both health and legal consequences of underage drinking.

Safest alcohol level for minors

Alcohol guidelines set 2 standard drinks per occasion as a safe level of consumption for adults. A standard drink contains at most 10 grams of alcohol, which is usually the level found in a can of light beer, ¾ of a can of regular beer, 1 small glass of wine or a 30 ml shot of spirits. This safe limit, however, cannot apply to underage drinkers due to their low tolerance for alcohol, smaller bodies, lack of experience in drinking and managing their drinks. Parents are strongly advised to delay the initiation of alcohol to children and educate them about:

* the short term and long term health consequences of alcohol

*  appropriate ways of drinking such as sipping small amounts accompanied by a meal

* social pressures to drink in parties and how to respond in certain situations

* safety guidelines such as informing parents of whereabouts, making regular calls to parents, not drink driving and avoiding risky behaviour during parties

Parents who host house parties where minors are invited can minimise underage drinking by insisting upon parents’ consent which may be communicated verbally through personal calls or in writing. Offenders may be liable to pay stiff fines of more than $7,000.

Choose your friends

If drinking is unavoidable especially because of an obligation or peer pressure, protect yourself and friends. Determine how much is your capacity to hold your drink. Stick to your limit. If you can handle 2 cans or bottles of beer then say “no” when the third bottle is opened for you.

Avoid those people who might cause you trouble by staying with trusted friends.

When drinking with a group and they become  wild, leave the group. If serious trouble is bound to erupt, know where to get help.  Know how to discreetly leave the place and go home.

Make a deal with your friends if you choose to drink

Make an agreement with trusted friends to watch out for each other among a  teenage drinking group. At least let someone remain sober. Always remind each  other about  the consequences of getting drunk. Stay together as a group and leave together. Never allow a drunken member to drive the car.

No to sex – you don’t want to regret later

Do not be an exclusive companion of someone who is drinking. Stop any sexual advances by keeping together with trusted friends. Never leave the party with someone who is drunk. Remember that sexual offences are easily done when people are intoxicated. Say “no”  to sex so you will not regret tomorrow.  Teenage drinking can lead to having sex and to other complications.

Watch over your friends

If someone in your group gets intoxicated, watch over that person. Do not leave him/her without a reliable companion. Know what to do when the person starts vomiting. Prevent a drunken friend to drive home. If things get beyond control, call 000 and so help is on the way.

Drinking does not erase bad things

Some young people drink as if the alcohol will obliterate their problems and bad experiences. Temporarily, in the state of intoxication, your problems might not look bleak but it is a very temporary release.  Teenage drinking is prevalent because of family or social problems but it is never the solution.

Deal with your problems in a positive way – consult a school counsellor, confide to your parents,  a close  friend or someone you trust. Drinking will not take away your problems but will even add a greater one.

In many parts of the world today, including Australia, alcoholic drinks are considered harmless and so people indulge in binge drinking. Binge drinking by teenagers occur because parents do not care to reprimand or give caution about it.

Dangers of Underage Drinking

1. Alcohol leads to brain damage

The brain of a young person is still undergoing development especially in the frontal lobe and hippocampus. Complete development of this area plays an important role in motivation, memory, impulse control and addiction. When person start drinking at a young age,  the possibility that development will be stunted is great. Brain damage is not going to be obvious for the damage needs time be become apparent. The effect will be felt once the person will be older.

2. Alcohol is emotionally harmful  

Due to binge drinking, the individual’s emotions are affected which is shown by the following behaviour:

• Loses self- respect
• Acts like a fool
• Damages his reputation
• Gets in trouble with parents, police / authorities
• Causes conflict with friends
• Does something regrettable and
• Becomes worried, feels ashamed and hurt from actions committed.

3. Alcohol is physically harmful

Sane people do not take anything voluntarily that causes harm to their physical well-being.  Here are the harmful effects of alcohol:

• Experiences a hang-over the next day manifested by vomiting and feeling terrible.
• Passing our because of an overdose.
• Becomes overly aggressive causing a person to injure himself or even to die because he gets into fights, accident prone and loses equilibrium.
• Begins damaging his brain
• Becomes extremely depressed and anxious.

Say No to Underage Drinking

Drinking is a matter of choice. You can either say no or yes. Don’t allow peer pressure to get to you.

If someone invites you to drink, you can say “no” . Below are some reasons that you can give why you can not drink alcohol:

• I am a participant in the sports contest.
• My parents do not approve and I will surely get in trouble with them.
• I don’t want to make a fool of myself when I get drunk.
• I like to act like a sane and normal person.
• I’m the family driver this week.
• I want to remain sober and sane.
• Our activities are more fun without alcohol.
• My girlfriend does not approve of my drinking.

Drinking is no big deal and does not add anything to your stature. Girls have preference to those who are non-drinkers.

There is always a time for everything. When you get into adulthood and your brain has fully developed then you can indulge in drinking alcohol. By that time, you are also in better control of yourself and will be more discipline in your alcohol intake.

The Next Alcohol Drinking Invitation

The next time someone invites you for a couple of drinks, be reminded of the negative effects of alcohol. Underage drinking is not “cool” at all and is dangerous to you, your health and to others around you.

• In March 2011, The Victorian Government introduced the Liquor Control Reform Amendment Bill into Parliament that will make it an offence under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 for a person to supply alcohol to underage teens or  minor  (a person under the age of 18 years) in a private home without parental consent.

• A person who supplies alcohol to a minor without a parent’s consent could be subject to the same penalty faced by licensees who supply alcohol to minors in licensed venues – a maximum fine of more than $7000. Sometimes friends and relatives start underage  teens on drinking alcohol.

This has huge implications for parents hosting parties for underage teens.

Even 18th birthday parties often have a few underage kids present that could potentially get parents that supply alcohol into a lot of trouble under these new laws! Parents will be more careful not to start  alcohol drinking in their homes because of this bill.

Add your comments below and tell us what you think of these new law on underage teens exposure to alcohol.

Most people at some time in their lives have suffered from the tragic effects of excessive alcohol consumption in themselves or others.

Binge drinking is a huge problem in Australian society, Australians are drinking more and are staring at a younger age.

Young people who commence drinking at 14 years are 4 times more likely to have problems with alcohol when they are adults.

The children who have parents who give them alcohol in the hope that it will teach them to drink responsibly are more likely to have problems with alcohol as an adult than those whose parents didn’t give their children any alcohol at all.

Bottom line, underage drinking should be discouraged from the very start. It is dangerous and not safe for growing kids.

Since the above situation is difficult to change or control, parents should be aware of the negative effects of underage drinking. They should make time and effort to teach responsible drinking to their kids.

The “Mediterranean model” of introducing alcohol to young people, where they are gradually allowed to drink small amounts in the presence of their parents, has been popular with many parents. However, the concerning levels of binge and underage drinking in Australia suggests that this has not worked. Early initiation to drinking is related to an increase in alcohol use, alcohol dependence, and early binge drinking and social problems associated with drinking. Another research shows that children who first had alcohol before 15 years old are likely to abuse 5 times more than those who start at an older age.

While there is no safe level of drinking, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol, recommend: For children and young people under 18 years of age, not drinking is the safest option; Parents and carers are advised that children under the age of 15 are at greatest risk of harm from drinking and it is especially important that they do not drink alcohol; If young people aged 15–17 years choose to drink they should be in a safe environment, supervised by adults and stay within the low risk guidelines.

But the bottom line is that the best prevention is not to allow underage drinking habits to start.

Death and Hospitalisation

Binge drinking among young people has a devastating effect on the lives of many young people and their families. Alcohol accounts for 13 per cent of all deaths among 14–17-year-old Australians — it has been estimated that one Australian teenager dies and more than 60 are hospitalised each week from alcohol-related causes (NHMRC, 2003). There were almost 3,000 hospital discharges among young people aged 15-24 years due to acute intoxication with alcohol in 2005-06 nationally. For young men, the hospital discharge rate for acute alcohol intoxication increased from 66 to 107 per 100,000 from 1998-99 to 2005-06. For young women, the rate doubled over this time from 46 to 99 discharges per 100,000. In 2005-06, male and female teenagers aged 15-19 years had the highest hospital discharge rates for acute intoxication from alcohol among all age groups (124 and 126 per 100,000)(ABS, 2008).

The numbers have grown ever since and this clearly shows that underage drinking is a problem that is prevailing today in Australia and elsewhere in the world.

Injury

The number of 12 to 15-year-old secondary school students who drink at risky levels doubled between 1984 and 2005. Young people are more likely to drink a lot of alcohol in a short space of time. As a result they are more likely to suffer from the dangers of alcohol abuse. Among 16–24 year olds, alcohol-related harm is one of the leading causes of disease and injury. Underage drinking causes injury include driving under the influence of alcohol, accidental injuries, violent behaviour and risky sexual behaviour. There are also risks involved with aggression, reduced inhibition, poor judgement and regret or embarrassment about their actions the next day.

Brain damage

Research shows that underage drinking can cause  young people’s brains can be seriously damaged from alcohol. Binge drinking is dangerous for the brain because of the heavy exposure to alcohol whilst drinking and the damage caused by the hangover. Adolescents appear to be more sensitive to the learning and memory problems that can be caused by alcohol. The parts of the brain that are affected by alcohol are also involved in memory and emotions, and damage could result in; memory problems, inability to learn, problems with verbal skills and depression.The learning difficulties caused by teenage drinking could result in poorer performance at school and an increased risk of social problems, depression, suicidal thoughts and violence. Heavy drinking during adolescence might permanently alter brain development.Even if a teenager stops drinking as an adult it might be too late to reverse the damage that might already have been done. The changes that occur to the brain during the teenage years make teenagers more vulnerable to the addictive actions of drugs (such as alcohol).For these reasons, the research suggests that adolescents should not drink alcohol.

Knowing these horrible effects should open the eyes of parents on the dangers of exposing children to alcohol. Do not allow your child to be one of the numbers falling on each effect.  Do not encourage underage drinking.

1. Parents should not get intoxicated infront of their children;
2. Parents should not supply their children with alcohol;
3. Parents should always express warmth and affection to their children;
4. Parents should maintain positive communication with their children;
5. Parents should monitor their childrens’ activities to include knowing who their children go out with; and
6. Parents should reprimand and give sanctions for any wayward behaviour.

“One of the key issues coming out of this research is the lack of any evidence showing that normalising the use of alcohol is a good prevention strategy” says Professor Doug Sellman of the University of Otago, Christchurch, who was invited to write an accompanying commentary.

“In fact the opposite is the case. The less alcohol is normalised in family life, and particularly when parents avoid being at all intoxicated in front of their children or supplying them with alcohol, the better the prevention of alcohol problems in young people will be” he says. Underage drinking is better prevented if children do not see parents and older people intoxicated.

The study also showed their is a clear evidence that government participation is also a vital element. Government should institute that alcohol is not an ordinary product and that heavy drinking is not a normal act.  Underage drinking habits is also prevented if alcoholic drinks are not easily available. The 1989 alcohol reforms was big mistake and should be given another thought. The act gave easy access to young people thus opening doors to alcohol related problems.

Underage drinking dangers are quite obvious and with parents and government working hand in hand the prevention of inculcating such habit in children can be stopped.