Authored by CHARLOTTE MITCHELL

Alcohol and tax — time for real reformMJA PERSPECTIVE
Perceptions of Australasian emergency department staff of the impact of alcohol-related presentationsMJA RESEARCH
Australia Day 2016: alcohol-related presentations to emergency departmentsMJA SHORT REPORT
 
Issue 1 / 16 January 2017
TACKLING alcohol advertising in sport is crucial to reducing excessive drinking, say experts, after new research reveals high rates of alcohol-related presentations to hospitals on Australia Day.
Ms Julia Stafford, executive officer at the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth told MJA InSight that “while alcohol companies promote and profit from the link between alcohol and our national day, emergency departments (EDs) are dealing with the ugly consequences”.

She said that Australia’s emergency services have “waited long enough for evidence-based alcohol policies that will reduce the burden”.
“We need a comprehensive approach that includes independent regulation of alcohol promotion, reform of the alcohol tax system and effective controls on when and where alcohol is available.”

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“Domestic violence is a widely discussed issue in Australia. However, many narratives fail to acknowledge the impact of alcohol and illicit substances on the prevalence and severity of domestic violence. They also fail to adequately describe the complexity of violence that occurs within families.                                                                                                     

A new study has revealed heavy episodic drinking doubles the risk of family and domestic violence. (Alcohol/Drug-Involved Family Violence in Australia (http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/publications/monographs/monograph-68)

Heavy drinking was also found to be linked to increased coercive controlling behaviour. This encompasses the behaviours used to exert control over an intimate partner such as financial control, threatening and intimidating behaviour, emotional control and isolation.”             

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Written by Honor Whiteman  Published: 3 December 2016            

The festive season is upon us, meaning many of us will be indulging in a drink or two at office parties or family gatherings. But a new study suggests it might be worth steering clear of white wine; it could raise the risk of melanoma. Researchers found white wine could be independently linked to greater risk of melanoma.
Eunyoung Cho, an associate professor of dermatology and epidemiology at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School in Providence, RI, and colleagues recently published their findings in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.  Melanoma is a form of skin cancer that begins in melanocytes, which are cells in the top layer of skin.                                              
 

While melanoma is significantly less common than other skin cancers - such as basal cell carcinoma - it is much more deadly. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 10,000 people in the United States will die from melanoma in 2016.  Now, Cho and team suggest alcohol - particularly white wine - should be added to the list. Daily glass of white wine could raise melanoma risk by 13 percent.

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