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Published: 30 August 2022

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The Dalgarno Institute proud to be part of this successful advocacy, not only by our direct lobbying of government, but also as members of National Alliance for Action on Alcohol and Movendi International #DemandReduction and #SupplyReduction go hand-in-hand!

Australia has raised its alcohol excise taxes by 4% bringing the price of a pint of beer to $15. Currently, Australia increases excise taxes on beer twice a year according to inflation, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Big Beer has for years been lobbying aggressively to secure tax cuts. The most recent attempt was a few months ago, prior to the Australian Budget. But inspired advocacy by communities halted this ill-advised proposal.

The industry proposed beer tax cut would have cost the Australian government $150 million per year. Over three years, this could amount to almost half a billion dollars lost. Meanwhile, Big Beer giants Lion and Asahi, which control almost three-quarters of the beer market in Australia, would have benefitted the most with windfall profits

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Published: 26 August 2022

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These harrowing cancer statistics can actually be good news - Sarah Berry August 24, 2022

Alcohol use is the second leading risk factor.

“People like to think ‘it’s not me, it’s the really heavy drinkers who are at risk’, but cancer risk is absolute,” Pettigrew said. “Every mouthful is a carcinogen in its own right. It’s not like you have to get drunk to get cancer. That’s not readily understood.”

Historically, she says, research suggested people who drank a little were healthier than people who drank nothing or people who drank a lot. “It took researchers a while to figure out that in that ‘drink nothing’ category are a lot of people with illnesses or other kinds of problems that have made them stop drinking. Now we can see every drink increases your risk.”

High body mass index (BMI) came third on the list, both in Australia and globally, according to the study, which looked at data from 204 countries in 2019. Other leading risk factors contributing to 4.45 million deaths (44 per cent of global cancer deaths) included high blood glucose, poor diet, unsafe sex, air pollution and exposure to asbestos.

One of the paper’s authors, Dr Xiaoyue (Luna) Xu, of the University of New South Wales, said there had been a 20 per cent increase in cancer deaths between 2010 and 2019 from lifestyle and environmental factors. Risk from high BMI and high fasting plasma glucose increased the most. “Much work needs to be done to change this,” Xu said.

The work includes supporting people to live a healthy lifestyle and understand its significance in preventing chronic disease, and living longer after being diagnosed with chronic conditions, said Dr David Mizrahi, a research fellow at the University of Sydney’s The Daffodil Centre.

“More support is needed from governments, starting from a young age, to educate communities and support lifelong behaviour change to allow communities to reduce the impact of cancer in their communities,” Mizrahi said.

The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. (Source: Lancet August 2022)

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Also Read

• Alcohol Directly Causes Cancer, New Study Shows
• Raising Awareness of the Link Between Alcohol and Cancer
• Alcohol is one of the biggest risk factors for breast cancer (W.H.O)
• Alcohol consumption and liver, pancreatic, head and neck cancers in Australia: 2017
• No amount of bacon or alcohol is safe, World Cancer Research Fund says
• Teens drink less if they know alcohol causes cancer — but most don’t — Adelaide University and SAHMRI study finds

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Published: 24 August 2022

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Some observational studies demonstrate a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with light-moderate alcohol intake compared with abstinence or heavy consumption. However, confounding lifestyle factors may explain these patterns. Researchers explored the association between alcohol consumption and CVD using a large genetic databank with 371,463 participants that included blood samples and lifestyle information. They constructed a “genetic instrument” based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with an alcohol use disorder diagnosis and AUDIT-C answers, but independent of other lifestyle factors.* Researchers measured the association between these SNPs and adverse cardiovascular outcomes to minimize confounding and establish a causal relationship.

* Defined as: smoking, body mass index, physical activity, vegetable intake, red meat intake, overall health rating, C-reactive protein level, and total cholesterol level.

Comments: Using a novel method to reduce confounding, this study supports a causal and exponential association between alcohol intake and CVD, beginning at low levels of consumption. These findings suggest that the apparent cardioprotective effects of moderate alcohol consumption found in some observational studies are due to confounding lifestyle factors. Moreover, this study supports the theory that no amount of alcohol is protective against CVD.

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Also see

• Association between clinically recorded alcohol consumption and initial presentation of 12 cardiovascular diseases: population based cohort study using linked health records
• A new scientific study concludes there is no safe level of drinking alcohol.
• Does moderate drinking really protect against heart disease?
• Dalgarno Institute Website - A Major Industry-Funded Alcohol Study Was Compromised. How Many Others Are Out There?

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Published: 17 August 2022

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A first of its kind study has quantified the secondhand alcohol harm in Australia. It amounts to nearly $20 billion in 2016.
Bystanders bear almost 90% of the costs of harm caused by others’ alcohol use, while the government footed the rest of the bill.

The findings illustrate the strong case for improved alcohol policy solutions in Australia to reduce the alcohol burden on bystanders and improve the lives of all Australians.

The cost of the harm caused to others is about the same as the cost of the harm caused by alcohol users to themselves and to response agencies serving them. When the second-hand harms are added to the direct harms to alcohol users, the total harm due to alcohol is about double that of tobacco.

This brings the total cost of the alcohol burden in Australia to about $40 billion

“The findings make a strong case for an active role of governments in reducing burdens that [alcohol use] causes to non-users or bystanders, including active intervention in alcohol markets to reduce these externalities,” (as per La Trobe University News.)   Dr. Jason Jiang, Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, La Trobe University

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