Word from the Dark Side – Walnut Tree, drinking spree, it tolls for thee and gibberish glee

Nikolai Vladivostok

February 23

'Risky levels': Australia is the drunkest country in the world, survey finds

The international survey found Australians drank to the point of drunkenness an average of 27 times a year, almost double the global average of 15. Almost a quarter of Australians reported feeling regret for becoming intoxicated...

The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education chief executive, Caterina Giorgi, said the statistics were "concerning", and that a clear picture of the impact of harmful alcohol use during the pandemic was only just emerging.

"Australia tops the world in both the number of times people report getting drunk and in seeking emergency medical treatment for alcohol … Both of those indicators suggest people are drinking at fairly risky levels," she said.

"We've seen a steep increase, which has sustained for calls for help to drug and alcohol hotlines, and increased alcohol involvement with family violence callouts.

"There's an emerging picture [that] there is a significant proportion of people who are drinking at riskier levels … to cope with stress and anxiety. Those habits are hard to undo as we continue to live in this Covid environment."

Giorgi said there had been a $3.3bn increase in alcohol sales into people's homes in 2020 – a trend continuing in 2021.

"In such an uncertain time, there's been a sustained change in the way alcohol is sold. Companies have been aggressively marketing, and using Covid and preying on anxieties to sell their products," she said.

"We have this perfect storm for an increase in alcohol harm and we're only just starting to see that."

A joint Turning Point and Monash University study found ambulance attendances for alcohol-related harm increased by 9% in Victoria last year, at the same time the state was under Covid restrictions...