Addiction Studies: Psychoactive Drugs Assignment 1 - Essay Example

Addiction Studies: Psychoactive Drugs Assignment 1 Introduction Current addiction studies: Psychoactive Drugs assignment 1 touches upon the problem of alcohol use in Australia, and its demand reduction, supply control and harm reduction strategy, which are used to decrease the harm that arises from the use of alcohol. Main body of the paper consists of the description and discussion of demand reduction, supply control and harm reduction strategies, evaluating its use, harms and benefits alcohol causes, and the consideration and presentation of the balance of advantages and disadvantages of each strategy. Conclusion part contains the contents of essay summarized with the conclusion stated. Alcohol use problem has become recently an urgent problem for many governmental policies, and misuse of alcohol is a major preventable risk factor for a wide range of diseases and injuries, such as various cancers, cirrhosis of the liver, alcohol dependence, cardiovascular disease, motor vehicle accidents, it contributes to crime, violence, and breakdowns in families and relationships and suicides. In Australia, for instance, the morality rate due to alcohol is estimated of 4,000 per annum, when alcohol is estimated to be responsible for 4.9% of the total disease burden and to generate $7.6 billion in social costs to the community per annum. [Giesbrecht, et al., 1990] Alcohol use is harmful for both sexes, but there exist clear gender differences in the age of initiation and patterns of alcohol consumption. It is stated that men usually begin drinking earlier (16 years) compared to 18 years women’s, and they drink less than men. Women also prefer drink wine (57%) or spirits (38%) and men – beer (53%) and bottled wine (41%) [AIHW, 1999]. Women tend to be more vulnerable to both the acute and chronic effects of alcohol misuse than men are [Frezza et al., 1990, p.95]. Regional differences have been demonstrated in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm, where it was estimated that ‘the consumption of high levels of alcohol by men is inversely proportional to the size of the population, ranging from 5% of men in a large rural centre to 8% in remote areas with less than 5.000 people’ [AIHW, 2003]. Alcohol consumption by both metropolitan and rural youth (14-24 years old) has increased between 1993-98. [Williams, 1999] Regular alcohol consumption is considered to be accepted by the majority (61%) of Australians, however recognition of widespread harms associated with alcohol misuse is limited (Reilly and Griffiths, 1998, p. 7-10) Main Body Alcohol policies can be directed to access limiting, discouraging driving under the influence, and reducing the legal purchasing age, and these strategies are likely to reduce harm linked to specific drinking patterns. [Ryder, et al., 2001] Health governmental policies tend to have the major impact on alcoholism treatment and clinical preventive services available to people within a country through health care financing and organization of health care itself. Population-based approaches as for prevention programs have greater effect on the drinking environment and the availability of alcohol [Edwards et al., 1994] That’s why alcohol policies are often based on a combination of political expediency, commercial interests, common sense, and public safety. All these factors are to be evaluated while working out a national anti-alcohol strategy, to minimize or prevent alcohol-related problems. Alcohol policies are said to be directed at populations and organizations, which must be governed by governments authoritative decisions made through laws, rules, and regulations [Longest, 1998]. Harm minimization strategy in Australia is aimed mostly at reducing drug-related harm, it aims to improve health, social and economic outcomes for both the community and individual, and encompasses a wide range of approaches. It involves a balance between demand reduction, supply reduction and harm reduction strategies. [Alcohol in Australia, 2001] All these strategies contribute to reduce drug use and supply, to prevent and minimize harm caused by it. According to ‘The National Drug Strategy. Australia’s Integrated Framework 2004-2009’, alcohol is named as second to tobacco as a preventable cause of death and hospitalization in Australia, being a significant contributor to public disorder, violence and crime. [The National Drug Strategy, 2004] Alcohol consumptions has remained stable for the past 10 years, which indicates that approximately 85% of Australians had consumed alcohol in the previous 12 month; and binge drinking patterns remains a concern, particularly among young people. [Edwards, Holder, 2000] The National Alcohol Strategy in Australia was worked out as an initiative of National Drug Strategy and was developed by the National Expert Advisory committee on Alcohol. In November 2004, at the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy meeting in Brisbane, a new National Alcohol Strategy for 2005-2009 was developed. [The National Drug Strategy, 2004] Supply reduction strategy here is directed to disrupt the production and supply of alcohol, and the control and regulation of it. Demand reduction strategies are ‘to prevent the uptake of harmful drug use, including abstinence orientated strategies and treatment to reduce drug use’, and harm reduction strategies are encompassed to reduce drug-related harm to individuals and communities’. [ Alcohol in Australia, 2001] The first step is the prevention of alcohol use of population, which is followed by the strategy of supply reduction, which is primarily aimed to prevent and reduce the availability of alcohol. Approaches to reduce alcohol use must be targeted towards individuals and communities, when the responsibilities to reduce these risks are shared between governments at all levels, the non-governmental sector, business and industry, communities, research bodies, families and those who use alcohol. To implement such strategies actions must be taken to ‘use public education campaigns and responsible media reporting, informed by current issues and emerging trends, to increase the public’s understanding of drug-related harms and effective interventions’. (Edwards, et al., 1994) For example, one of the strategies worked out by the authorities, is ‘to improve the information available to individuals and to start the process of change in the culture of drinking to get drunk’. [AIHW, 2003]. For this reason, wide range of anti-alcohol campaigns are provided, including information provided for young population at schools, and anti-alcohol advertisements, because ‘anyone who drinks alcohol needs to understand how sensible drinking guidelines apply to the kind of drinks they consume; and those who may be experiencing problems, along with their families and friends, need to know where to get help and advice’. [Longest, 1998] ‘School health education programs, holistic in nature, have an inherent value and contribute to the overall social and personal development of the students’ [Australian Alcohol Strategy, 2004]. While education can influence beliefs and attitudes about school, the mistaken expectation is that information and education programs will reduce drinking or related harm. So that educational strategies show little or no effect in reducing alcohol consumption. Unfortunately, information is not the main factor influencing people’s behavior and their decisions either to consume alcohol or not. Role of alcohol in society - particularly for young people- is dictated by the whole social culture that is very difficult to change quickly. One of the National Anti-Alcohol Strategies initiatives is to ‘support a successful partnership established with health, law enforcement, education, non-government sector, research sector and affected communities, engage actively with local government to develop responses to local alcohol issues’ (Longest, 1998). Supply control strategies encompass a number of strategies, which include ‘”dry” or restricted areas; conditions on trading hours\days; type of alcohol provided, volume of take-away alcohol; types of containers used; third party sales; the provision of food with alcohol’ [Bourbon et al., 1999] Harm reduction strategy of Australia’s drug policy is based on the principle of harm minimization and promotion of partnership between health, law enforcement and education agencies, affected communities, business and industry in tackling alcohol-related harm. [Edwards, Holder, 2000, p.622-627] The STFA recommended to increase taxes on alcohol products as part of the effective measures to reduce overall alcohol consumption. Researches stay that the alcohol sales figures for both cider and spirits significantly decreased, demonstrating that this strategy can have influence on alcohol consumption. [AIHW, 2003] But form the other side, it raised a risk of non-legal alcohol products appearance and its illegal widespread within a country. A comparison of sales figures for 2002 and 2003 shows that following the tax increase on spirit products, spirit sales sharply decreased (-20.1%) while wine continued to increase (+8%) and beer (-2.5%) and cider (+1%) showed marginal changes. The recovery of cider sales in 2003 demonstrates that the effect of increases in alcohol taxes can be short lived. [The National Drug Strategy, 2004] Nevertheless, governmental legal policies are considered to be the most effective ones, influencing individuals and communities not personally but through a rather strict set of rules which cannot be obeyed. That’s why to sustain a reduction in overall consumption and related harm, it’s necessary that taxes on alcohol products continue to increase. Mortality, aetiologic fractions which contribute to a particular cause of death or disease, hospital morbidity data that is likely to reflect the impact of policies targeted towards drinking to intoxication; night-time assaults, which provide a measure of the level and nature of crime; road crashes which cause one third of all road deaths in Australia – all these issues are also considered to be indicators of alcohol-related harm, which are to be dealt with. The National Alcohol Strategy Committee was formed in 1997, and deals with alcoholic harm reduce in Australia, which objectives are viewed as ‘to reduce drug-related harm to individuals, families and communities; reduce the risks to the community of criminal drug offences and other drug-related crime, violence and anti-social behavior; increase access to a greater range of high-quality prevention and treatment services; improve evidence-based practice through research and professional education and training’ [AIHW, 2003] Such strategies include mass media campaigns, alcohol and drugs programs at schools, drink driving campaigns, education and training of hospitality and tourism workers in the responsible service of alcohol. Harm reduction strategy is connected with crime legislation. The Licensing Act 2003 is a key part of the Government’s strategy for combating alcohol crime and anti social behavior, where legal and health organization collaborate together to minimize a level of harm made by alcohol to the population. The intervention of health establishments with anti-alcohol organizations is a very important issue, but the problem is mostly caused by a person whose decision depends on his own level of intelligence, press of surroundings or other personal reasons. There exist also programs worked out for protecting pregnant women, prisoners, people with a mental health disorder, older people, heavy drinkers, young people from alcohol consumption. Governmental strategies here are also directed at improving the effectiveness of legalization and regular initiatives, which include ‘liquor licensing laws, restrictions on the sale of alcohol of service to intoxicated people and those who are under 18 years of age, local restrictions at the request of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, police initiatives, consumer information, legislating regulating alcohol advertising’ [The National Drug Strategy, 2004]. Risk factors of alcohol use interact with biological, psychological, familial and social class risks. Workplace risk factors, moreover, include alcohol availability, alienation and powerless, low job satisfaction, stress, inadequate training and supervision, prevailing workplace culture, poor working environment (for example, noisy\dirty) and isolation from family and friends. [Trice and Sonnenstuhl, 1990, p.201-210] As researches suggest, benefits of alcohol use are connected with light or moderate alcohol consumption of all types of alcoholic drinks, not only red wine, in middle-aged or elderly population, which are associated with decreased mortality from cardiovascular disease. [Rimm et al., 1996, p. 731-734] Moreover, alcohol is associated for adults with socializing, relaxing and pleasure; it also accounts for a substantial section of economy, cause over 90% of the adult population drink. All these data collected are to be accepted at both regional and country levels, and the further considerations concern the strategies directed at all the social backgrounds and age groups to be a complex one. Many of the targets and indicators for national level also apply at the local level, however some aspects of alcohol policy, such as taxation, or restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship, cannot be decided at a local or regional level. Conclusion The principle of harm minimization has formed the basis of Australia’s national drug strategies since 1985, which refers to policies and programs designed to reduce and prevent harm associated with alcohol. It aims ‘to improve health, social and economic outcomes for both the community and the individual and encompasses a wide range of approaches including abstinence-oriented strategies’ [Alcohol in Australia, 2001]. National Governmental Alcohol-abuse preventing strategies are aimed to reduce the demand, supply of alcohol, and harm caused by it. Its objectives are also to reduce the risks to the community of criminal drug offences, alcohol-related crime, violence and antisocial behavior; reduce alcohol-related harm for individuals, families and communities; reduce the personal and social disruption, loss of life and poor quality of life, loss of productivity and other economic costs associated with harmful alcohol use. The strategies worked out and implemented into practice by national and regional authorities have their complex character for the policy to be as effective as possible. With evaluation of the data collected and the results of anti-alcoholic strategy practice, the appropriate programs and plans have been worked out by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and take into consideration all the aspects of alcohol policy, such as demand reduction strategy, which is aimed at both the individual and community to reduce the desire to consume alcohol; supply control strategy with a great number of laws and restrictions, and great control that is given according to the rules of alcohol production technologies and sales ones; and harm reduction strategy, where the positive role or benefits of light of moderate alcohol consumption by middle-aged or aged people are stressed upon; its positive effect is stated to be produced not only by red wine, but also beer and even spirits in decrease the level oh heart diseases. All the strategies presented by the authorities have their positive directness but the main task is to prevent the use and widespread of alcohol use beginning form the early age, so that to begin dealing with the problem within a family surrounding when the young member of society is most sensible to new knowledge and positive recommendations from the side of adults. The Government strategies’ role cannot also be underestimated but it mostly have to deal with the level of legislation of supply and demand decrease of alcohol products, and of cause it has to maintain its informational function to the population. Each strategy has both its advantages and disadvantages, but with the evaluation of all the collected data and researches since 1985, the disadvantages were minimized to give the strategies their right to exist for better social and cultural raise of Australians. Moreover, the authorities in collaboration with international health organizations, worked out the strategies most appropriate to be implemented in their particular country. References 1. Alcohol in Australia: Issues and Strategies. A background paper to the National Alcohol Strategy: A Plan for Action 2001 to 2003/04. (2001) Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs. No 2928 2. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2003). Statistics on drug use in Australia 2002. AIHW Cat. No. PHE 43. Drug Statistics Series No. 12, AIHW, Canberra 3. Bourbon D., Saggers S., Gray D. (1999) Indigenous Australians and Liquor Licensing Legislation. National Centre for Research into the Prevention of Drug Abuse, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. 4. Edwards, G., and Holder, H.D. (2000) The alcohol supply: Its importance to public health and safety, and essential research questions. Addiction 95: S621-S627 5. Edwards, G., Anderson, P., Babor, T.F., et al. 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