Alcohol and Moral panic

[Tote]

At the risk of starting another thread with Alcohol in the title the latest round of media publicity on binge drinking has me thinking is this a stunt to take the public's mind off the issues of the day or is it a serious attempt to demonise drinking the way that speed (the road kind) has been promoted as the only reason that the road toll is high.
This year there has been more than the usual number of "moral panic" stories in the press, some that come to mind are:
Fencing of driveways made compulsory like pool fencing
All 4WDs to be compulsorily fitted with reversing cameras
Binge drinking is killing everyone under 30
and today's gem, Sydney must stop building roads and make people cycle to work.link
So what are people's thoughts, is it a concerted campaign or are the lunatic fringe simply using the change of government as a chance to throw their ideas up and hope that they get adopted by a new government

[Geez Louise]

How about petrol will be $3 a litre within 10 YEARS!?! That was my personal fav.

[fmc351]

How do people misinterpret what they read so badly? Speed isnt demonised on its own, its part of a wider campaign, its the readers/listeners that fail to see the wider message. On the road, speed often has an involvement in crashes, and their severity, so speed kills is an apt message. Newspapers and TV enjoy ratings, they will make "anything" a story if they can make a headline from it, and think enough people will listen to it. Clearly even those that hate the "speed kills" campaign are buying the headlines anyway.

Fuel prices could be $3 a litre in 10 yrs, its certainly close to tripled in the last 15 yrs in Qld. I remember in 92' it was under $0.50 a litre, and I recall at times it was under $0.40 That would put it close to $3 a litre in 10 years given the trend.

Are you saying there isnt an alcohol problem in society? You dont think that costs the taxpayers in policing, hospital care, general public nuisances etc?

[Sonik]

Originally Posted by Geez Louise

How about petrol will be $3 a litre within 10 YEARS!?! That was my personal fav.

But its so sudden! How will we adapt to the $1.50 change in only 10 YEARS!!??!

[alecrain]

Speed doesn't kill - it's the sudden stop that does.

But on a more serious note, in my opinion BAC of just over 0.05 doesn't have much affect on a driver (don't take me wrong, I don't get behind the wheel even after one light beer) but the rules have to be there as alcohol will
slow down one's reaction,
make one fell asleep easier
and in case of young, inexperienced drivers will make them do more stupid stunts in their car.


And media will always pray on simple people's fears

[daniel_rossy]

oh oh oh a funny one was that when Today Tonight worked out that 40% of teenagers are drug dealers. It was on chasers. Ha!

[mik]

there`s some truth in all of it and the media will sensationalise anything to make a buk out of it the same as we would, is there anyone here that does`nt know someone with a drug or drinking problem either friends or family, if there was 1 person that that said no that would be a suprise to me , some of it is not a beat up.

[uranium_death]

The media are not there to inform...they're there to make money.

They'll come up with any sort of crap to sell...

That's why I believe nothing, except that we'll all die, taxes suck, and beer is good.

[FGII-XR6]

I work as a drug and alcohol counsellor and if you saw the harm this legal drug causes you would understand why it is often in the headlines. Alcohol is a highly toxic drug (pharmacologically more harmful than pure heroin) but as it is legal and socially acceptable people are quick to jump to its defence.
Don’t get me wrong I in no way advocate prohibition of alcohol, prohibition has been proven to be a dismal failure with alcohol (in the United States) and with our drugs that are currently illicit ( people continue to use despite the legal ramifications ).
The point I am making is that most media items you see regarding the harm caused by alcohol are fairly close to reality and in some cases understate the true impact on our community. So this is not paranoia it is warning the community of the consequence of the use of a legal recreational drug.
I know some of what I say here will upset some people but it needs to be said. Alcohol use is often glamorised in our community and if we are to address the issues associated with alcohol abuse we need to de-glamorise its use. Alcohol will not make your life better, used in moderation it will not make it worse but abused it will eventually make your life a living hell (I’ve been sober 7.5 years and I know that hell)

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by au3xr6

Look at previous post (I'm saving room!)

Well said.

As Dr. Paul Tickell's book's title reads, "Everything in moderation except laughter, sex, vegetables and fish".