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Key findings: With Australia now well into the third year of this pandemic, there is clear evidence on the growing harms from alcohol. The report found:
- High levels of stress and anxiety, as well as boredom and isolation, have been identified as key drivers of risky alcohol use during the pandemic
- Studies have also found childcare pressures and employment instability were drivers of increased alcohol use
- Increases in alcohol-related deaths and soaring demand for support services
(D.I Comment: The Alcohol Industry were very quick to cash in on self-medicating pursuits activities during the Pandemic. State governments did not help the vulnerable either. If fact, most unleashed even greater accessibility to alcohol, in some instances classing it as an ‘essential service’. The short term gratuitous ‘win’ for the (in these vulnerabilities) addiction for profit industry have a price. Not only the health and well-being of the vulnerable citizens, but the escalating costs of immediate and future care for both acute and chronic alcohol use. It’s time the industry was accountable for the burden of disease it – as in these pandemic circumstances – aggressively worsened.)
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Drinking alcohol during or after a shift has long been common practice among hospitality workers, especially male hospitality workers. However, attitudes toward alcohol are starting to change. As part of VicHealth’s Men’s Risky Drinking Initiative, “Hospo drinking cultures” seeks to amplify these changes through a series of short animated documentaries. The animated documentaries feature personal experiences of how men are navigating and changing hospitality drinking cultures to facilitate low risk drinking, alternative ways of winding down after a shift, and care between hospitality workers. (Watch the conversations and also check out www.greaterrisk.com)
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(As we understand it, the Liquor licensing is to eventually migrate to– Department of Justice, but under VGCCC in the interim)
A quick synoptic overview of some of the changes to alcohol availability to your community – No prizes for guessing it is not more restrictive.
The following Licence types have been granted extended trading hours from 11 pm to 1 am
- Restaurant and cafe
- General and late night (general).
- On-premises
This is a concern, as it ‘creeps’ the active alcohol serving hours up into the small hours of the morning, again – this is unnecessary and will not bode well for public health and safety. (Outdoor settings of these venues are excluded from these new trading hours – they must still stop serving at 11 pm)
Also, these venues are now able to provide an alcohol ‘take-away’ and home delivery option for their customers.
Restaurant and cafe licensees allowed limited amounts of takeaway/home delivered alcohol with an adult meal prepared on the licensed premises. Need to notify VGCCC of intent to supply.
- 1 x 750ml container of wine or,
- 6 x 375ml per container of beer, cider, or pre-mix
Other businesses seeking to ‘diversify’ are also being granted certain limited liquor licenses, so they can sell and deliver alcohol to their customers, i.e., Butchers Hamper, with condiments and alcohol included.
Again, increasing mechanisms to deploy more alcohol into the community, and more concerningly into the home environment where alcohol and other drugs are contributing to higher rates of familial and intimate partner violence, is not a positive step forward in community health, safety, and well-being.
Such previously interim moves saw increases in these toxic behaviours during Covid restrictions, and anecdata suggests the trend is holding even after Covid restrictions lifted. These further loosening of access and availability options on liquor will only continue to add to this disturbing up-tick in familial harms.
The following data from VGCCC outlines in more detail the changes.
- Person placing order is over 18, person receiving order is over 18.
- Must verify ID of person buying and receiving home delivered alcohol.
However, Concerningly,
- First time to delivery at home is the person who places the order must receive the order. But future deliveries to that location no longer require verification.
- The delivery driver must check ID, but they do not have to record anywhere that they have ‘checked it.’
Minors and Alcohol Don't Mix - YouTube
Minors checklist_ (vcglr.vic.gov.au)
So, the questions ensue.
- How can you prove ID has been sighted, let alone checked, other than the word of the delivery driver?
- What is to stop the residents of the ‘first time’ delivery from exploiting the ‘no need to check further’ caveat to serve minors for future deliveries?
Some other key points:
- Planning Permit always supersede Liquor licence permission. So Local Government regulations in this space supersede Licence permissions. (This can be useful for community health and safety focused Councils to curtail some potential harms from the multiple ‘over-service’ options the under-regulated alcohol market can exploit.)
- Licensees are responsible for third party advertising of their products – Though the industry is still ostensibly self-regulating.
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Alcohol is the most common principal drug of concern for people accessing treatment, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW’s) new report.
a) Almost two in five (37%) treatment episodes for people accessing support for themselves were for alcohol, followed by
b) amphetamines (24 %),
c) cannabis (19 %) and
d) heroin (4.6 %).
Between 2011–12 and 2020–21, alcohol was the most common principal drug of concern in treatment episodes provided to people for their drug use. This number has increased by 24 per cent, from approximately 67,000 episodes in 2011–12 to approximately 83,000 episodes in 2020–21
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All kombucha has a bit of alcohol in it due to the sugar fermenting with the yeast. Commercial brands that have less than 0.5% by volume in it can be sold as “non-alcoholic.” Any more than that and the government considers it to be booze. Fermentation time, temperature, and the way the drink is stored all play roles in how strong it becomes. Some kombucha continues to ferment even in the bottle
Some reports link the homemade variety to stomachaches, dizziness, nausea, infections, and allergic reactions. The risk is high when people brew it in unclean conditions. That makes it easy to taint during fermentation. Brewing or storing it in glazed ceramic pots has a link to lead poisoning, too.
Stay away from this drink if you have a weakened immune system or a long-term health condition -- especially liver, kidney, or lung disease. Don’t drink it if you’re pregnant. It’s not for young children either. But if you’re a healthy adult, the store-bought kind that’s pasteurized is fine in moderation -- but not more than 12 ounces per day. Read the nutrition label, though, because the sugar and calories can vary quite a bit by brand.
It’s important to always keep kombucha in the refrigerator, even before you drink it. If you leave a capped bottle at room temperature for a while, the carbonation in it could build up -- and you might get a surprise splash when you open the bottle. The cold of the fridge also slows the fermentation.
- Meaning in life and stress-related drinking: A multicohort study of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Large Alcohol Study Challenges ‘Heart Health’ Claims
- “No Child Left Behind: Do Children from Households with Alcohol Problems Get the Help They Need?’’
- Calls to end late night booze deliveries