Say no to alcohol next to Southern Cross Campus

Hi Duncan

Good on you for arranging this ban multiple alcohol shops petition. Less availability => less consumption, especially amongst our young. If this didn't happen setting up extra shops and their associated costs without a significant return on investment would be uneconomic and no business wishing to stay in business would entertain this.

Unfortunately trying to ban alcohol per se won't work as it's too easy to make. All that's needed is a bucket of water, sugar and yeast or a source of yeast e.g. bread.

Education on the health and social dangers of alcohol might help to a small extent but this needs to target boozing parents as well as drunk kids!

Removing alcohol advertising from sports will also reduce its "glamor" as well as diminishing visual appeal of its products. To illustrate recall the furor the tobacco industry responded to plain packaging - again they research well that attractive packages sell more product why otherwise waste money on the advertising? Obviously the more attractive and trendy a product the greater the sales are likely to be.

There is no "silver bullet" and no magic single solution. A number of mutually supportive measures will be needed. Alcohol has been with us since day one and can be a curse or a joy. From one psychology study I read on alcoholism in rats, 1 in 5 develop this measured by the death of these rodents! The researchers mentioned at the end that similar proportions exist in humans (though few will ever admit to it; however alcohol dependency is objective measurable from withdrawal symptoms such as "DT" tremors followed by seizures, hot and cold sweats, insomnia etc when it is removed).

Excellent initiative!

Ian