Legal drug’s fatal toll

By Dion Teasdale
ALCOHOL-RELATED illnesses and injuries claim the lives of almost 70 Yarra Ranges residents and 15 Murrindindi residents each year, Health Minister Bronwyn Pike said last week.
In the Shire of Yarra Ranges, alcohol causes 564 hospital admissions, 409 instances of family violence, 286 assaults and 128 serious road injuries each year.
And in Murrindindi Shire, alcohol causes 43 hospital admissions, 46 instances of family violence, 16 assaults and 15 serious road injuries a year.
Ms Pyke said the deaths in the two municipalities were among 3000 Victorians dying each year from alcohol-related illnesses and injuries.
“Alcohol abuse is hitting our hospitals hard with almost 9000 emergency presentations across the state in 2004/05 – a frightening 35 per cent increase over five years,” she said.
Ms Pyke said an average of 66 Yarra Ranges residents and 14 Murrindindi residents died from alcohol-related causes each year in the three years up to 2003.
The figures come from the Victorian Alcohol Statistics Handbook, a comprehensive snapshot of the negative social impacts of alcohol abuse in Victorian municipalities which was launched by Ms Pyke last week.
The handbook, published by the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, details the number of alcohol-related deaths, assaults, domestic violence incidents and road injuries.
Ms Pike said the results from the handbook were alarming, providing all Victorians with a serious wake-up call on their alcohol consumption and its effects on the community.
“Alcohol is second only to tobacco as a drug that causes high levels of disease and death,” Ms Pike said.
“The Bracks Government is committed to reducing the levels of alcohol abuse in the community and driving home, through awareness and education, that alcohol can cause serious harm to the drinker, their family and the community.”
Ms Pike said rural Victoria was feeling the social impacts of alcohol abuse more than those in metropolitan regions were.
“Alcohol is a social legal drug but with that comes the responsibility and the necessity to use it sensibly.
“I would urge all Victorians to ensure that their enjoyment of alcohol is not at the expense of individual or community harm,” she said.
The Victorian Alcohol Statistics Handbook – A Summary of Alcohol-Related harm for all Victorian Local Government Areas can be downloaded from www.turning point.org.au.