Get a Clue
(booze)
When Jessica Birch says "make or break" she really means it.
If these accommodations aren't made, she could be in bed for days recovering.
The 34-year-old has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), a lifelong, permanent and debilitating disorder which is caused when alcohol crosses the placenta to the developing baby during pregnancy.
Jessica's many symptoms include chronic fatigue, a sleep disorder, heart rate, digestion, and sweat glands that function erratically and problems with her autonomic nervous system. But the reality of what that actually looks like in everyday life, is where people struggle to understand
"I need a lot of brainpower to perform basic tasks. If someone is trying to speak to me while I am making a coffee, for example, it becomes very difficult to make the coffee. I can't respond to someone and process what they are saying, if I am doing something else," Jessica explained.
"I can't drink water from a water bottle and walk at the same time. Sometimes it may take 20 seconds for me to actually register what is being said to me," she added.
The Pregnant Pause Community Heroes campaign launched this week encouraging ACT businesses and organisations to join a growing network that supports mums-to-be in having alcohol-free pregnancies.
Pregnant Pause — an initiative of FARE, supported by the ACT Government — is a thriving community of pregnant women and their partners, support people, families and friends, focused on support and awareness that there is no safe amount, no safe time and no safe type of alcohol during pregnancy
An avalanche of alcohol ads is coming, and there’s little protection for children
How does it affect young people?
The report distils evidence from 30 years of research involving tens of thousands of young people showing that greater exposure to alcohol advertising and sponsorship leads to earlier alcohol initiation, and more harmful drinking. In short, there's a dose response.
According to report co-author Professor O’Brien, “sport is the leading single entertainment genre for marketing alcohol to children and young people, and research shows advertising and sponsorship in sport is highly effective in influencing children and young people’s attitudes toward alcohol, and their drinking”.
While the impacts on health from allowing exposure to alcohol marketing and sponsorship are quite clear, the impact of preventing exposure is equally clear. In countries with strong laws and regulations to restrict alcohol marketing, there are lower rates of harmful alcohol use.
The public health rationale for protecting children and young people from alcohol advertising is simple, but often ignored. Drinking at a young age poses short-term risks to their health (for example, injury, and accidental death), as well as serious long-term consequences (such as brain damage and developmental problems).
Tobacco advertising was banned in Australia decades ago, but alcohol advertising has continued unfettered.
Australian children’s exposure to alcohol advertising through online and digital media is rapidly increasing, but exposure remains highest through traditional media such as television, and sport sponsorship.
The pandemic has shown us the importance of clean environments when it comes to infectious disease, but what about healthy environments to prevent NCDs? The return of the NRL saw XXXX cardboard spectators (above a gambling ad no less). We need to end alcohol advertising in sport.
In a single year, Australia’s children and adolescents experience more than 50 million exposures to alcohol advertising through telecasts of the three major national sporting codes (AFL, NRL, cricket). Alcohol advertisements within these three sports represent 60 per cent of all alcohol advertising in televised sport.
How can Australia protect young people from alcohol advertising?
Australia urgently needs stronger restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship to protect children and young people. Internationally, our regulatory controls on alcohol marketing are among the weakest.
The majority of Australians (approximately 70 per cent), and particularly parents (80 per cent), support stronger restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship. Hence, policymakers should anticipate a substantial amount of public support if stronger restrictions were implemented.
The evidence base suggests that there are several effective ways for protecting children and young people from exposure to alcohol advertising, two of which stand out as the most obvious and practical next steps for Australia.
First, we need bans on TV alcohol advertising at times when children are known to be watching, especially during sports programs, where alcohol ads are currently permitted at any time on weekends (including Friday evenings).
Second, we need to get alcohol sponsorship out of sport. There are good examples to follow from other countries (such as France and Ireland), as well as Australia’s own success in removing tobacco sponsorship from sport.
Our Chair, @carol_fawsitt addresses @GAPCDUBLIN2020 and asks all delegates to ‘put children at the centre of all public health policies devised to counter the harm caused by alcohol.’ #gapc2020
Need Help?
- Looking for help or at least thinking you really might need it?
- Feeling a bit lost and alone and running out of options?
- Maybe you're even thinking there is no way out?
- well, you don't have to hit bottom to start looking for better options, pick up the phone and talk to somone who gives a damn.
