The Prevalence of Alcohol Consumption in Adults - Essay Example

The increase in the consumption is responsible for several health related issues, and increase in the accidental deaths. The rise is consumption is though due to social issues, but the economic conditions of the Australians have also contributed towards this increase. The government is therefore considering seriously introducing reforms in social, healthcare and economic front. Unless the government is not successful in the resolution of issues relevant to social and economic needs of the people, the emotional and psychological desperation will prevail, and this will contribute towards increase in drugs and alcohol consumption. Through this study we have surveyed the opinion of people towards the legislation specific to alcohol consumption control. The imposition of taxes on this product is also under discussion for which feedbacks from consumers and distributors have been incorporated (WHO 2004, 234). Introduction The consumption of alcohol in Australia is at its extreme. Such consumption has potential to inject harmful effects on the young population of the region. The drinking of alcohol is related to the social and psychological factors, and at instances the increase in consumption of alcohol is requirements relevant to the social adaptation. The consumption of alcohol is also affected by social atmosphere; the place and weather are instrumental (Blum 1981, 50). The ignorance on the part of certain population is also responsible for the increase in the consumption of alcohol. The Australian population mainly comprises of people between the age group of 20-35, and this young group is exposed to several social temptations. The public and social events have greatly pulled and attracted the population towards alcohol. During one of the social survey, it was highlighted that at instances alcohol has been replaced by drugs including methamphetamines. The social bias and differences are among the reason behind alcohol consumption; the personal and professional grudge between two people is also the cause. Research Method Under research method, the sampling technique was instrumental to gather conclusive and accurate observations and results. As per the adopted method, the groups of alcohol consumer were divided on gender and age basis. The activities of the consumer were also studies, and the consumption of alcohol was related against such activities. The bar owners were also part of the analysis, and the bar managers were interviewed. The sample size was also critical; therefore more than 10 samples were taken for each study. In second phase, we tried to relate the economic standing of the population against their consumption; the social and psychological factors were also studied. The young population, government officials and non-governmental organization officers were interviewed to familiarize with their understanding towards increase consumption of alcohol. The individuals interviewed were bar managers, non-governmental officers, police officers, government legislators, health officials, and young population addicted towards alcohol (Markowitz 2005, 34). Area Surveyed The areas surveyed include Goldfields, Pilbara, Gascoyne, Midlands, Kimberley and Mid West. The analysis and discussion is based upon the feedback of the bar owners and local population about alcohol. The general awareness of the population towards health concerns related to alcohol has been explained. The local population was interviewed to confirm their opinion about the role and legislation of government specifically about tax changes on alcohol (Cook 1982, 384). Discussion In Australia, several such cases have been reported where an individual got involved in drugs and alcohol because of personal jealousy against a guy on feminism, financial and professional issues. During the survey of Western Australian bars, the club managers confirmed that increase in consumption of alcohol is responsible for several bad incidents inside bars. Such bad incidents have been controlled through strict disciplinary action and implementation of code of conduct (Hall 1996, 23). The Australian government has been interestingly following this episode of increasing consumption ad consequential social issues. The government has introduced a legislation under which the bar managers will be responsible for providing alcohol to the consumers such that they should be cautious about the quantity, furthermore the legislation has restricted open and free distribution of alcohol, rather it has introduced a concept of responsible service under which the bars have to offer alcohol to the customers responsibly. The term responsible has broad interpretation, and it is interpreted that the bards have the responsibility towards controlling the rising consumption of alcohol, and the level shall be controlled to improve the health standards and social harmony (Watson 2005, 173). The non-governmental organizations have suggested that government should focus upon launch of health and educational campaigns through which public awareness can be improved significantly. The government has to develop contact with the public at all levels, and has to essentially communicate the threats relevant to the alcohol. It is important that government should reflect the incidents due to alcohol consumption among the young population, and should share it with people as caution note (Tessa 1999, 34). The government has to directly involve itself with the people, and has to inform the population about the potential alcohol-related harms. It is the responsibility of the government to implement mitigation measures, and should therefore communicate directly with the people through internet, television and print media. It is important to highlight the mitigation measures so that the people can think of "immediate well-being and safety when drinking" (David 2009, 32). It is medically proven that alcohol is not harmful unless it is taken beyond limits, the excessive intake of alcohol can be deadly. This is so far the documentation part; the implementation phase is a challenge for the government. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that population is complying against the legislation, and therefore government has to strengthen its law enforcement agencies for that purpose. The implementation of legislation will be though partially effective and the role of law enforcement agencies will be additional support but unless government does not put control on the availability of alcohol, it would difficult to bring major change (MCDS 2006, 127). Considering a simple example of demand and supply, if alcohol is being supplied at common places on reasonable rates then probably every other individual will be alcohol addict, therefore to control and restrict the consumption of alcohol the government has to either imposition restriction on its sales and introduce tough regulations. The imposition of alcohol will have no legal and religious justification, therefore government can introduce high taxes on the sales my making alcohol a rare commodity (Measham 2003, 179). Considering the consumption of alcohol, the male population is aggressively alcohol-addicted; however the females are marginally lesser against their male counterparts. It is important to understand the culture of Western Australia, where drinking is not considered as a bad habit. Drinking is common especially during celebrations, therefore legislation are ineffective on such common events (Measham 2005, 273). During survey of young population, it was confirmed that socializing has drive many youth towards alcohol, and for many it is alcohol which is source of public recognition and popularity. From professional and private perspective, the interviewees confirmed that it was alcohol which bridged the differences between distinct colleagues, and was source of commonality and understanding. Alcohol is therefore not a pleasure rather it is a source of improving social characteristics and standing. Alcohol is cause of unconsciousness, and many addicts assume that alcohol is responsible for stress-relieve and mental relaxation. Medically, it has been confirmed that consumption of alcohol is responsible for the deterioration and damage to human nervous system, therefore the response time of human slows down; therefore the person feels relaxed and comfortable and it out of state of anxiety after consuming alcohol (Jonathan 2005, 34). Fig No. 1 – The table explains the consumption of alcohol and other related drugs by composite group of people. (Ref. National Drug Research Institute). This data has clearly indicated that consumption of alcohol is exceptionally higher in group of males only, and the presence of females adds control to the increase consumption. The decrease in consumption is justified by the element of respect and affection which is strongly demonstrated in a gathering where females are present. This is psychological factor driven on gender basis. As per the data, the consumption of alcohol is within controllable limits among group of females, however it has tendency to rise in the presence of their male counterparts. From psychological perspective, the female would attempt to give strong outlook, and to maintain this outlook she will definitely take any extra step i.e. increase their consumption of alcohol (David 2009, 32). Measure Phase Analysis During course of interaction, it was realised that the leisure time was responsible for pulling towards alcohol. The youth shared their personal experiences, and confirmed that during leisure time it has become their tendency to interact and socialise with their community, and therefore have to take the advantage of alcohol to come along people more effectively. During survey, it was realised that youth population of Western Australia was ignorant about the health risks factors, it was also confirmed that law enforcement agencies have limited approach to identify and capture alcohol-addict. It is essential for the government to introduce and implement rehabilitation activities through which the consumption of alcohol can be reduced, and it is imperative government should offer relaxed regulations for those who agreed to drop their drug-illicition. Among female population, there was little awareness of the consequences of drinking which the child has during the pregnancy of mother. The doctors have claimed that excessive intake of alcohol can be cause death of the baby inside womb; it is therefore encouraged that governmental shall introduce strict orders under which the pregnant mothers will refrain from drinking (Miller 1993, 56). The professionals reported decline in their daily consumption of alcohol due to increase in their professional work-scope, therefore government can successfully introduce a system under which hard-work invested by the person will be returned in monetary form. Such incentives will positively attract alcohol consumers (Homel 2003, 48). Driving incidents are major challenge in particular those incidents which occurred due to over-drinking. So far the punishment for the held captive for driving in state of unconscious mind – true for alcohol drinker – is lenient, unless the Australian government does not revise its legal issues relevant to alcohol consumer and incorporate severe capital punishment for alcohol driver (Shahid 2004, 244). From psychological perspective, the increase in alcohol consumption is responsible for intensifying the differences between two accompanied drunken fellows. There have been cases in Australia, where quarrel was observed between two friends after heavy consumption of drink. The unconscious state of mind is a mind of criminal – though criminal knows that he is doing good, the alcohol-consumer will do the harm without realizing its impact and consequence (Sonika 2003, 234). With reference to transportation from club to home for alcohol-addicted fellow – such job can be regarded as challenge. In Australia, many alcohol addicts arrange their advance transportation from club to their place. Such precautionary action has significantly contributed in the prevention of any foreseen transportation activities (Suad 2003, 54). With reference to food-intake, the in-take of food can be better choice to prevent unconsciousness due to drinking. The intake of food will reduce the in-take of alcohol, and will subsequently prevent excessive state of unconscious mind. IT is therefore important to keep stomach minimum half-full so that the person is able to demonstrate his physical and mental controls (David 2009, 45). Concept of Taxation The Australian government took an initiative of imposition of taxes and additional levies on alcohol drinks. Soon after the imposition of the taxes, the population refrained from purchasing the expensive alcohol drinks, and significant drop in the daily consumption was reported. It will be impossible to achieve 100percent success, but definitely the drop in the intake of alcohol has been achieved, similar policies have been implemented in New Zealand. The Australian government has acted smartly, and has ensured that the prices of alcohol drinks do not vary with inflation. Even if the inflation goes negative, the prices of alcohol will rise (Young 2006, 710). Conclusion In Western Australia, the alcohol consumption is biggest challenge. The challenge has economic, social and health related disappointments, therefore it is important for the government to develop legislations through which the overall impact of alcohol consumption can be controlled. Through economic and taxation reforms, the population was refrained from its excessive intake, however it is the health campaign initiated by the government which has been really effective. The legislations by the government have made it mandatory for the alcohol consumer to arrange independent transportation from bars to their homes. The bars are equally responsible for those who consume large quantity of alcohol, and it is the bar which has to ensure that unfortunate events are controlled from occurrence. It still remains a fact that alcohol is a business industry therefore irrespective of the consequence this product shares, if monetary benefits through its sales are achievable the country will never ban this product (Mark 2002, 345). It is the moral and ethical responsibility of the state to launch a campaign through which general awareness of the hazards related to alcohol shall be communicated with the public. The economic gain and revenue generation through sales of alcohol is bumper field for the government therefore elimination of this product will be a sin and lead to liability, however responsible approach shall be applied to disengage the public from this product without affecting the business sector. References 1. Jocelyn Grace, David Moore & Jeremy Northcote. 2009. Alcohol, Risk and Harm Reduction: Drinking Amongst Young Adults in Recreational Settings in Perth. Curtin University of Technology Publication. 2. Measham, F. 2003. The New Policy Mix: Alcohol, Harm Minimisation, and Determined Drunkenness in Contemporary Society. International Journal of Drug Policy 17(2): 176-179. 3. Measham, F. 2005. British Alcohol Policy and the New Culture of Intoxication: Crime, Media, Culture 1(2): 262-283. 4. 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