The Legal Drinking Age in Australia - Essay Example

 Contents Name and Client Background 3 The Issue: Legal Drinking Age 3 Background 3 Arguments 4 Medical and Social Benefits 5 Early Warning Signs 6 Recent Developments 6 Current Lack of Action 7 Facts of the Matter: The American Comparison 8 Recommendations and Conclusions 8 Works Cited 10 The Legal Drinking Age and Australia Name and Client Background The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an independent body that represents the ideas and interests of more than 27,000 doctors. Since the body is directly connected with Australia and the medical health of Australians, the Australian Medical Association takes the concerns of Australia with regard to medical and social issues quite seriously. Therefore, matters which concern the health of Australians as well as policies which can have an impact on the general health or wellbeing are of great interest to the AMA. The Issue: Legal Drinking Age The issue under discussion is the legal drinking age for Australians and undoubtedly, many organizations would suggest that the drinking age be lowered as people should be allowed to make responsible decisions when their own bodies and minds are concerned. However, it can be shown with scientific evidence and with information about Australia itself that lowering the drinking age would be a mistake and that the drinking age should in fact be raised to meet American standards i.e. it should be set at 21. Background Alcohol related issues and the question of minimum age requirements for allowing individuals to drink have been around for years. While the AMA agrees with the idea that people should be allowed to make their own decisions, when it comes to their decisions affecting the life of others, governments and responsible bodies may have to step in to prevent harm to others. For example, the same argument of allowing people to have independence in decision making could be extended to the notion of allowing people to use cocaine, heroin or other illegal substances as much as they want since it would be ‘their’ decision. However, once a person who has used cocaine loses control of his/her senses, would it be justifiable to hold them responsible for their decisions? Further, if their use of the drug brings them to a point of addiction, would it not be damaging to society itself if Australia loses a productive member of the social order to excessive use of drugs? As discussed by Cooper (2008) is it acceptable for us to lose 3000 Australians per year to alcohol as well as $15.3 billion? When we evaluate these questions, we come to a point where it is difficult to disagree with the idea that for certain decisions, the freedoms which we hold dear have to be given up for the greater good. Arguments Considering the greater good, alcohol, alcohol addiction and the negative effects of binge drinking have been well documented as they have an impact on the individual as well as the people around him/her. In fact, alcohol addiction can even be seen as a mental illness since it comes under the subject of substance abuse. Treated as a metal issue, it is a priority area for the government since almost a million Australians will go through one or other form of mental ailment in their lifetime (AIHW, 2005). Without having a sufficiently high drinking age, the community would only be putting itself at risk with regard to individuals within the community getting addicted at an early age. Medical and Social Benefits While the medical benefits of the move are quite obvious, there are also social benefits to consider as discussed by Hall (2007). If the legal drinking age was raised to 21, the number of road accidents caused by drunk drivers and teenagers on a binge would be significantly reduced. Professor Wayne Hall from the University of Queensland reports that America saw a marked decrease in road fatalities as the American government raised the minimum age standards to 21 and that Australia should do the same. The Professor says that: “I think it's a possibility that we should seriously consider and one we should be debating. Alcohol is one of the main causes of road deaths among 17 to 25-year-olds in Australia and such a move could help reduce the road carnage (Hall, 2007, Pg. 1)”. Further, it has been suggested that people may consider alcohol to be a gateway drug and when the start of alcohol consumption is delayed, it makes them less likely to engage in using other drugs. Additionally, their tendency to form a dependence on alcohol is also decreased. At the present time, alcohol is certainly having a very negative impact on Australian society and something has to be done about it by the government in order to reduce and eliminate these negative effects (Hall, 2007). Early Warning Signs The research done by Hall (2007) shows us that alcohol related deaths have reached a point where one teenager dies every week due to underage drinking or binge drinking which causes alcohol poisoning. In the same week, 60 or more are hospitalised due to excessive alcohol. The data gathered by the Government also shows us that ten percent of teens drink at harmful levels and thirty percent of the same teens who drink also engage in high risk behaviours after or during their binge drinking sessions. Recent Developments In fact, the idea of increasing the minimum drinking age is at the very tip of the iceberg since better education regarding alcohol consumption has to be imparted to all Australians. While our teenagers have no images that they can use for responsible drinking, whatever they can get from their peers or from other media sources. As described by Lee (2008), while the government has taken some measures, a lot remains to be done with regard to teenagers. The younger the person is at the age when they start drinking, the more the risk of them coming to harm due to alcohol (Hall, 2007). Therefore, increasing the drinking age can also help raise awareness about alcohol related issues. To add to this point, a research article written by Giglia and Binns (2007) is quite useful since it looks at the patterns of alcohol use amongst women in Perth. Women are traditionally told not to consume alcohol at all during pregnancy due to the risk factors associated with problems such as the Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. As described by Day (1992), while it is known that alcohol negatively affects the child before birth, the exact biological processes of how it harms the foetus are still being studied. Current Lack of Action Giglia and Binns (2007) discuss the problem of alcohol use, due to the current lack of action, amongst pregnant and lactating women and suggest that a problem of alcohol abuse exists in some women who are pregnant. For these women, the risks of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome or other birth complications are raised substantially. However, the research done by Giglia and Binns (2007) tells us that even at lower levels, there may be complications and problems for the child about to come into the world. Additionally, researchers such as Streissguth (1997) as well as Abel and Sokol (1987) have reported that there is no ‘safe level’ of alcohol consumption for a pregnant woman. Any amount of alcohol which is taken by a woman during her pregnancy or while she is nursing can be seen as substance abuse because it puts the child at risk. In fact, consumption of alcohol by a mother who is pregnant has also been connected to other social issues for the child which can come up later on in life i.e. problems with the law, increased likelihood of being a substance abuser or having problems in their education such as being dropped out of an educational institute (Streissguth, 1997). Facts of the Matter: The American Comparison Giglia and Binns (2007) have compared the American and Australian numbers for women who drink during their pregnancies and report that, “In America, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported figures of any alcohol use by pregnant women in the previous 30 days of 12.4% in 1991, 16.3% in 1995 and 10.1% in 2002 (Giglia and Binns, 2007, Pg. 497)”. American figures are far lower than the Australian figures and this in itself could serve as a reminder that alcohol use is certainly an issue in Australia at the moment and lowering the drinking age would only make the situation worse. Recommendations and Conclusions Alcohol is a drug. The simple fact of the matter is that it is a dangerous substance which needs to be controlled by the government to the point that its use and its ill effects can be controlled. While the hotel, restaurant and entertainment industry might give different perspectives and even cry about individual freedoms with regard to the consumption of alcohol, their objective is only to gather as much cash as they can, as quickly as they can. If they are actually concerned with the liberties of individuals, let them offer alcohol to anyone who wants it for free and it will become clear in an instant if they are worried about their profits or the idea of freedom. The AMA stands with several other distinguished bodies who work at the local, governmental and regional levels with regard to the ill effects and the problems created by teenage alcohol use. The reports, the data and all relevant information collected by these bodies strongly points towards the idea that alcohol should be controlled in a stronger manner. The first step towards establishing control on alcohol is to simply increase the age at which alcohol can be purchased legally since that would go a long way towards handling many issues Australia faces with teens who drink. Word Count: 1,588 Works Cited AIHW. 2005, ‘National Health Priority Areas’, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, [Online] Available at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/nhpa/ AMA. 2008, ‘About the AMA’, AMA.com.au, [Online] Available at: http://www.ama.com.au/web.nsf/tag/about-the-ama Cooper, H. 2008, ‘Rudd sets aside $53-million to tackle binge drinking’, ABC.net.au, [Online] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2185516.htm Hall, W. 2007, ‘Raise age to 21, says Professor’, Queensland Sunday Mail. [Online] Available at: http://perspectives.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=131141&forum_id=89 Abel, E. and Sokol, R. 1987, ‘Incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome and economic impact of FAS related anomalies’, Drug and Alcohol Dependency, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 51-70. Day, N. 1992, ‘The effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol’, Alcohol Health and Research World, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 328-244. Giglia, R. and Binns, C. 2007, ‘Patterns of alcohol intake of pregnant and lactating women in Perth, Australia’, Drug & Alcohol Review, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 493-500. Streissguth, A. 1997, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Guide for Families and Communities, Brookes Publishing. Lee, J. 2008, ‘Back to the bottle shop as drinkers stay at home’, [Online] Available at: http://business.theage.com.au/business/back-to-the-bottle-shop-as-drinkers-stay-at-home-20080423-285p.html Word Count: 1,588 Read More