One of the almost 9000 submissions made on the Alcohol Reform Bill is from the Allied Health Professional Associations' Forum (AHPAF), an umbrella group representing allied health associations, which in turn represent many thousands of practitioners working at the coal face- in district health boards, private practice and community settings.
Nineteen groups came together to support this submission, ranging from psychologists and counsellors, to occupational therapists and physiotherapists.
Allied health practitioners are well qualified to speak of the harm and damage resulting from New Zealand's alcohol laws, as many of them deal with the results of excessive drinking on a regular (sometimes daily) basis.
Some of the examples of New Zealand's drinking culture, presented by AHPAF to the justice and electoral select committee, include:
From a treatment service working with male adolescents referred for alcohol-related problems, the picture drawn from 44 young males aged 13-19 include that they started drinking aged 10, were drinking daily at 15 and getting intoxicated four times weekly by the time they were referred for treatment.
Even at this young age, nearly a quarter were dependent on alcohol, more than half suffered from anxiety and nearly 60% suffered from depression.
The teens reported that alcohol was very cheap and easily accessible, and they drank whatever was available, vodka, white wine and RTDs being the easiest to consume quickly. They stated that it was the price and availability of alcohol that made the difference to their drinking.
In another example, a practitioner at a maternal mental health service reported that alcohol abuse was a significant problem for some women.
It was not uncommon for some women to have a long history of alcohol use, drinking heavily during the first few (or all of the) months of a pregnancy, possibly with associated drug use. The birth may have had medical complications and/or resulted in the death of the infant.
The consequences of this stress and devastation on the women can include turning back to drinking as a means of coping. The ongoing and spiralling effects of this can include breakdowns in relationships, an inability to care for other children, significant debt (resulting in dependence on other family members), arrest following illegal activity and an inability to make decisions and maintain a home.
Additionally, research tells us that in New Zealand:
• A-third of all apprehensions by police involve alcohol.
• Half of serious violent crimes are related to alcohol.
• 60 different medical conditions are caused by heavy drinking.
• At least 600 children are born each year with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
• 17,000 years of life per year are lost through alcohol.
Statistics such as these, and many others, do not adequately capture the misery, pain and loss that many New Zealand families suffer as a result of excessive alcohol use. However, they do go some way in describing the awkward truth - alcohol is causing considerable damage to our society.
This is a historic opportunity to change New Zealand's alcohol laws and reduce the harms from our excessive drinking culture. However, as it stands, there are no measures in the Bill that will make any substantial difference to the extent of heavy drinking in New Zealand.
After considering the proposed new Bill in the light of the available evidence, we are even more convinced than ever of the need for a more comprehensive and bold approach to the problem.
AHPAF supports the 5+ Solution which has been promoted by Alcohol Action and supported by many prominent New Zealanders and organisations.
This should include putting an end to:
1. Ultracheap alcohol, beginning with a minimum price for a standard drink.
2. Highly normalised and accessible alcohol, by restoring supermarkets to being alcohol-free.
3. All alcohol advertising and sponsorship, except objective printed product information.
4. Legal drink-driving, by reducing the adult blood-alcohol level to no more than 50mg per 100ml of blood.
AHPAF members work together to raise awareness of the contribution that allied health professionals make to high-quality health care in New Zealand.
The allied health professions each have a distinct specialised body of knowledge and skills, and actively work with people accessing health and disability services across a range of settings.
Altogether, allied health (which excludes nursing and medicine) makes up around one quarter of the professional health workforce.
• Shani Naylor is executive director of the Allied Health Professional Associations' Forum.
