Someting is terribly wrong when significantnumbers of our young men and women want to get off their faces with alcohol (its legal) or drugs (illegal). I applaud PM Rudd for taking action but I’m concerned we are not addressing the root causes of such self destructive behaviour. What is going on?I’m not a wowser  - I enjoy a glass of wine with my meals and the occasional beer but in my six decades I’ve never been inclined to write my self off like our youth are hell bent on doing - many on a regular basis.

In the work I do with Grace Gawler, the work of helping people survive, thrive and live well with cancer, I’m continually reminded how precious our health is. When people get a cancer confirmation they usually experience a terrible shock - “Like being hit with a Mac truck.” as one client stated.

From this perspective it is inconceivable that anyone would want to destroy their own health - as binge drinking or drugging will do. Since one in three men and one in four Australian women will get cancer it makes sense to be as healthy as possible and find fun and excitement in ways that do not damage one’s health. Yes that’s possible.

The following data is from the PM’s office - The binge drinking problem:

Binge Drinking imposes a huge toll on our community. The 2005 Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) Survey found that in any given week, approximately one in ten – that is 168,000 – 12 to 17 year olds reported binge drinking or drinking at risky levels (defined in this report as seven or more drinks for males and five or more for females). For 16 and 17 year olds, one in five drank at risky levels.

A study of community football clubs in 2000 carried out by the Centre for Youth Drug Studies showed that:

-13% of 18-20 year olds drank 13 or more standard drinks each time they visited the club;
-83% left the club as the driver of a vehicle; and
-70% of males (30% of females) believe drinking is an important tradition at their club.
In addition to the objective evidence on the costs of binge drinking, there is the untold impact on families and communities around the country.

As I state in my website goals, it is time debunk the silly notion that to be a “real man” one has to be a big drinker. Sadly after decades of stupid “real man” programming, liberated young women of today somehow think it is cool to act like men.

It is time to look more deeply at the root causes of self destructive behaviour. What do you thnk?