Gen+Y+and+the+Issues+of+High+Risk+Drinking

Name: **Tyler Wilkinson**

Tutor: **Sarah Jordan**
= Artefact =

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This UK television advert, launched in 2008 as part of the Home Office’s £4 million binge drinking campaign, graphically brings to light the various consequences and outcomes of binge drinking by reversing the progression of a night on the town gone wrong (Morris, 2008). The advert shows a teenager getting ready for a night out however turns the typical idea of this on its head by tearing his shirt, covering his clothes in food, pulling out an earring, urinating on himself, and giving himself a bloody nose with the door frame before leaving the house. The ad ends with the caption “You wouldn’t start a night like this, so why end it that way?”.

=  Public Health Issue =

The issue of high risk alcohol consumption is of great concern within our society today. Commonly referred to as “binge drinking”, this level of alcohol consumption is often associated with those that fall in to the age bracket of Generation Y. Whilst some may see this as a stereotypical characterisation, the association is for good reason. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS [|,] 2006), in the 12 months prior to the 2005 national study on alcohol consumption one in five males and one in ten females aged 18-24 had consumed alcohol at high risk levels at least once per week. This age group was also indicated as being the most likely age group to drink at this risk level. This alone shows the need for discussion on the public health issue, and the reasons behind the various anti teen-drinking ad campaigns across the world.

= Literature Review =

The consumption of alcohol is of course a large part of Australian society and has been for generations. The sharing of a cold beer around the barbecue with a group of friends is after all the icon in celebrations of the one day on our calendar devoted to the arrival of the first fleet. However when the occasional drink with friends turns in to regular high risk levels of consumption, it is clear that there is an issue that must be addressed within society.

For example, the Australian Bureau of Statistics states in the 10 years between 1995 and 2005 there were approximately 33 thousand deaths of Australians aged 15 years and over due to risky or high risk drinking (ABS, 2009). Alongside this, statistics by the ABS showed that close to 70% of Australians aged 16 to 85 had first drunk alcohol at a high risk level whilst underage (ABS, 2009). This is an alarming figure as whilst there are of course a large list of long-term consequences surrounding the over-consumption of alcohol, it has been noted that a greater amount of individuals die from the acute effects such as dangerous driving and increased levels of violence whilst under the influence which can in turn lead to the death or injury of not only the individual drinker but of others as well (ABS, 2009).

Furthermore, research has shown that risky levels of alcohol consumption are responsible for 82.5% of drug-related deaths in young people aged 15-19 years (McBride et al, 2000)with 89.2% of substance-related hospitalisations of those aged 15-34 again relating to alcohol. Data from the same report conducted by the National Drug Research Institute also states that the identifying of an increase in violence and the consequence of physical injury is a known trend in young males, with young females also consistently identifying that sexual vulnerability has become an evident risk in drinking situations (McBride et al, 2000).

In addition, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has indicated that, 64% of males aged 14-17 years were current drinkers and 21% of males had consumed harmful levels of alcohol on a regular basis (AIHW, 2004). The study showed that in the high-risk drinker’s category there was a decrease in the levels of alcohol consumed compared to earlier surveys however the amount of alcohol was still a detriment towards the short term health of the drinkers (AIHW, 2004). The AIHW also notes that determinants attributing to short-term risky alcohol consumption in youths included youthfulness, increased levels of smoking on a daily basis, and having a group of friends that also partake in binge drinking (AIHW, 2010). Additionally, the economic cost of alcohol consumption is also of great concern as it not only affects those partaking in said binge drinking but society as a whole. The AIHW has indicated that in the financial year between 1998 and 1999 a total of $5.5 million was attributed to alcohol consumption which was noted to include a loss in productivity, health care costs, road accident-related costs and crime-related costs (AIHW, 2004).

Research has also clearly shown that binge drinking during an individual’s adolescent years can be an attributing factor towards poorer health outcomes and heavier alcohol consumption during adulthood (Jefferis et al, 2005). The influence of the media and exposure to advertising is also another interesting side of this issue, as Generation Y has of course been associated with the rise of technology and access to the media. Studies conducted by the Centre for Health Initiative in NSW have shown that the various types of alcohol advertising within society show clear correlations with levels of alcohol consumption (Jones et al, 2011). The study showed that males aged 12-17 years that had been exposed to internet advertising and advertising within a bottleshop were associated with regular alcohol consumption (Jones et al, 2011). The alcohol consumption however did differ between age and sex, with females aged 16-17 attributing alcohol initiation to advertisements seen in various magazines.

Alongside these various advertising strategies, the implementation of various campaigns targeted at high-risk drinkers shows the acknowledgement of the ‘binge drinking epidemic’ within our society. Studies undertaken at a Melbourne music festival in 2009 assessed young people who reported participating in binge drinking on the effectiveness of the messages in the government campaigns (Van Gamert et al, 2011). The study showed that 29.5% of the young people surveyed reported frequently engaging in high-risk drinking levels (Van Gamert et al, 2011). Furthermore, three quarters of those participating in the survey were able to identify the message of the campaign put forward. However those who had noted participating in binge drinking on a much regular basis had much lower odds of recognising the messages within the advertisements (Van Gamert et al, 2011).

Taking all of this information in to account, it is however worthwhile noting a number of limitations that may be present within the statistics and data recovered from the sources used due to the various methodologies undertaken. Firstly, the data collected by the AIHW in the form of the survey is designed to be of a specific purpose however surveys do not always meet the requirements and needs of those investigating (AIHW, 2004). This would lead to some data possibly being needed in the future but may restrict analysis because of the above mentioned purpose. Secondly, the use of self-reporting of data would lead to a number of issues due to the fact that there is no routine validation of self-report data (AIHW, 2004) and the reported statistics may be subject to bias estimates at the time of report.

= **Cultural** and Social Analysis  =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">With the alterations of social norms brought about by society as well as shifts in the media and technology today, the public health issue of high-risk levels of alcohol consumption within Generation Y has become a familiar state of affairs. The concern for public health is that binge drinking is becoming a severe detriment to the short and long term health of Generation Y, with the normality of drinking to get drunk becoming the weekly habit for many adolescents.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">An issue that has been brought to light in the past is the argument that various spirits are marketed towards young drinkers with the taste, colour, and bottle designs being largely similar to that of soft drinks, further promoting the binge drinking epidemic and the development of these carnal pleasures relating to intoxication. Dubbed “alcopops”, the pre-mixed spirits are of course extremely popular among Generation Y with their mid to high percentage of alcohol per bottle coupled with soft-drink like tastes allowing the effortless consumption of high risk levels of alcohol. However this issue is not going by unnoticed. With the introduction of the “alcopops tax”, positive figures show that young Australians consumed equal to 440 million fewer standard drinks in the 2008-2009 financial year, proving that the tax was clearly effective in cutting the rates of binge drinking in Generation Y (Corderoy, 2010).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In Australia the consumption of alcohol is seen as an important way to relax, socialise and celebrate in many forms whether it be having a beer on Australia Day, or coupling a bottle of wine with a meal. However with this, intoxication and being drunk is excluded from this vision of alcohol consumption as part of our national culture (Keane, 2009). The change from “drinking culture to drunken culture” (Keane, 2009) is a clear one within Generation Y, with the previous ideas of drinking being a form of mateship and camaraderie in Australian culture changing to that of setting a goal of becoming as drunk as possible on a Saturday night out.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Helen Keane of the School of Humanities at the Australian National University argues that with this change in our culture, it has become clear that there are various pleasures that have become associated with drinking and intoxication all ranging from “socially valued to demonised” (Keane, 2009). She states:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 98%;">//“Speaking eloquently about one’s love for Coonawarra Shiraz is a sign of distinction, looking forward to having a few beers with your mates on Friday night signifies a quintessentially Australian form of mateship, but celebrating the joy of getting deliberately and completely pissed would be taken by many to represent a shift from pleasure to pathological excess.”// (Keane, 2009)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It is this pathological excess that is becoming the new social norm for Generation Y, with the emergence of carnal pleasures being developed around the consumption of alcohol (Keane, 2009). This in turn has become the public health issue, leading to the increased release of anti-binge drinking television campaigns around the world (as seen in the cultural artefact above) compared to that of generations past.

= Analysis and Reflection = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The advertisement by the Home Office in the United Kingdom directly addresses the public health issue of Generation Y around the world as it graphically shows some of the negatives that are associated with binge drinking. The ideas brought to mind by the advertisement causes teens to question themselves as well as subtly implying ‘Is going out to get pissed really worth it?’. This is further backed up by the final caption “You wouldn’t start a night like this, so why end it that way?” blatantly telling Gen Y viewers to ask themselves their true reasons and motivation behind binge drinking. Being a part of Generation Y myself, the ad has caused me to question my own actions on a night out and has indeed given me reason to further ask myself why my own generation has become what it is today and how I as an individual can seek to change the negative perceptions of young Australians.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Through the cultural analysis and literature review of the significant public health issue that is the high-risk drinking within Generation Y, I have come to the conclusion that in order for there to be a change across a population, the individual must start on their own to change the perceptions of society. The assessment topic has opened my eyes to the change in social norm from previous generations to that of my own, and has definitely caused me to think twice about my own reasons and motivations and even the pleasures that I associate with alcohol consumption. Hopefully by seeing my initial opinions from a different perspective I can not only better myself but lead to the betterment of my whole generation.

= Reference List  =

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2006). //Alcohol consumption in Australia//. Retrieved from http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/4832.0.55.001/

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009). //Smoking, risky drinking, and obesity//. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features30Dec+2009

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2004). A guide to Australian alcohol data. Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442467602

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2010). Drinking patterns in Australia. Retrieved 28th October 2011 from http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442472461

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Corderoy, A. (2010, May 28). Drinking drops as alcopop tax bites. //The Sydney Morning Herald//. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/national/drinking-drops-as-alcopop-tax-bites-20100527-whun.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jefferis, B., Power, C., Manor O. (2005) Adolescent drinking level and adult binge drinking in a national birth cohort. //Addiction, 100//(4), 543–549. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2005.01034.x/full

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jones, S., Magee, C. (2011). Exposure to alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption among Australian adolescents. //Alcohol and Alcoholism, 46//(4), 631-636. Retrieved from http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/content/46/5/630.full.pdf+html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keane, H. (2009). Intoxication, harm and pleasure: an analysis of the Australian National Alcohol Strategy. //Critical Public Health, 19//(2), 135-142. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=c3533a66-6344-4a54-a7f0-ad3db70660a5%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=107

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">McBride, N., Farringdon, F., Midford, R. (2000). What harms do young Australians experience in alcohol-use situations?. //Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 24//(1), 54-59. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/doi/10.1111/j.1467-842X.2000.tb00723.x/pdf

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Morris, J. (2008). Home Offices launches £4 million binge drinking campaign. Retrieved 28th October 2011 from http://www.alcoholpolicy.net/2008/06/home-office-lau.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Van Gamert, C., Dietze, P., Gold, J., Sacks-Davis, R., Stoove, M., Vally, H., Hellard, M. (2011). The Australian national binge drinking campaign: campaign recognition among young people at a music festival who report risky drinking. //BMC Public Health, 482//(11), 1-8. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3148999/pdf/1471-2458-11-482.pdf

= <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reflections <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> =

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