More Australian women drinking
Reported September 27, 2008
SYDNEY, Sept. 27 (UPI) — Young women in Australia are consuming more alcohol and suffering the consequences, leading to a sharp jump in alcohol-related trips to the emergency room.
New South Wales Health reported that the number of people treated for alcohol-related problems in emergency rooms in the state rose 59 percent between 2000 and 2007. Most of the increase came from “ladettes,” women between the ages of 18 and 24.
New South Wales Health Minister John Della Bosca said he is considering ways to cut down on binge drinking among young people. They include requiring warning labels that would alert drinkers to the risk they are taking when they do it to excess, banning commercials for alcoholic drinks before 9 p.m. and a ban on liquor advertising.
“Binge drinking is caused by a number of factors but advertising does not help,” Della Bosca said. “The power of persuasion of alcohol advertising is the most sophisticated and seductive I have seen. As a student of the art of persuasion for electioneering, the alcohol industry is almost unbeatable.”