National Alcohol Strategy 2000-2003 02

National Alcohol Strategy 2000-2003
Full text version

Date of publication: March 2001

page 2 of 8

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Part One: Introduction

Alcohol

‘Alcohol’ is a generic name given to series of organic compounds, most of which are highly toxic to humans. Only one type of alcohol – ethanol, or ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH) – is fermented or distilled for use in beverages that are meant for human consumption.

While alcohol works at the cellular and systemic level in the human body, its most immediate and readily apparent effects are on the brain. Alcohol is a psychoactive (mind-altering) drug, and is one of the most widely used drugs in the world.

Alcohol in New Zealand

The desire to make and consume intoxicating drink is a long-standing one, dating back to pre-literate times (Musto 1997). Despite the spread of alcohol in most other parts of the world, pre-European New Zealand was one of the few places that alcohol-containing drinks were not developed (Hutt 1999), prompting one observer to comment that: ‘The white man and the whisky bottle came to New Zealand together’ (Williams 1930). Within a fairly short time of European contact, though, alcohol had assumed a significant role, leading some to describe this period of the nation’s history as ‘baptised in alcohol’ (McNeish 1984), and New Zealand as ‘Grog’s Own Country’ (Bollinger 1967).

While much has changed in attitudes to and practices around alcohol these days, alcohol certainly remains part of contemporary New Zealand society. It is a legal, regulated and widely available product, and the large majority of adults drink at least occasionally. Alcohol is a feature of New Zealand life. For many it is a symbol of hospitality, and is used on occasions to celebrate important events in people’s lives.

Used in moderation, alcohol can reduce the risk of certain illnesses for some groups. The alcohol and hospitality industries also contribute significantly to New Zealand’s economy. Excise tax on alcohol alone raises about $440 million each year (The Treasury 1999).

However, when alcohol is misused the resulting harms can be considerable. These harms include physical and mental health problems, injury and death on the roads, drownings, violence, fetal abnormalities, absenteeism and impaired work performance. In annual terms, the social costs of alcohol misuse in New Zealand have been estimated as being between $1.5 billion and $2.4 billion (Devlin et al 1996).1

National policy on alcohol-related harm

In recognition of the health, social and economic costs of harmful alcohol use, the Government released a national policy statement on alcohol in mid 1996, as one part of its combined National Drug Policy (Ministry of Health 1998a).2 It recognised that, on the one hand, when used in moderation and in non-hazardous situations, alcohol can provide personal and social benefits; but on the other hand, when it is misused, or is used in risky situations, alcohol can also cause great damage to individual drinkers, their families and to the wider community. The national policy approach to alcohol, therefore, was not to try to prevent its use altogether, but rather to minimise the harm associated with alcohol.

The relationship of the National Alcohol Strategy to the National Drug Policy

This National Alcohol Strategy both complements and extends the Government’s National Drug Policy. As a subset of the National Drug Policy, the Strategy provides:

a framework for action on alcohol issues

a balanced approach to the task of reducing alcohol-related harm, including the three pillars of supply control, demand reduction and problem limitation strategies

an intersectoral and co-ordinated approach to tackling alcohol-related harm, thus avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort, and helping to ensure that resources are used as effectively and efficiently as possible

a formal structure for evaluating the success of the Strategy, through the existing Inter-Agency Committee on Drugs and the Ministerial Committee on Drug Policy.

The goal of the National Alcohol Strategy is to minimise
alcohol-related harm to individuals, families and society.

Implementation, monitoring and review

The National Drug Policy establishes a structure for the implementation, monitoring and review of strategies to reduce drug-related harm, including alcohol-related harm.

A group of Ministers, the Ministerial Committee on Drug Policy (MCDP), meets at least twice a year to review progress and determine which new policy initiatives should be recommended to the Government. The MCDP is chaired by the Minister of Health, and made up of the Ministers of Education, Transport, Maori Affairs, Police, Justice, Corrections, Customs and Youth Affairs.

A group of officials, the Inter-Agency Committee on Drugs (IACD), monitors and receives reports on progress made in implementing the Policy, ensures that policies and programmes throughout government are consistent and mutually supportive, and recommends new policy initiatives to the MCDP. The IACD is chaired by a representative from the Ministry of Health, and is made up of officials from the Ministries of Education, Justice, Transport and Youth Affairs, as well as from the Department of Corrections, Te Puni Kokiri, the Police, the Land Transport Safety Authority, Customs Service and Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand.

Public sector agencies with responsibility for drug-related policy report to the IACD every six months. When needed, other agencies, including non-governmental organisations, are invited to work with or make representations to the IACD. As a subset of the National Drug Policy, the National Alcohol Strategy will be implemented, monitored and reviewed within the same structure (see Figure 1 below).

As a subset of the National Drug Policy, the National Alcohol Strategy will be implemented, monitored and reviewed within the same structure (see Figure 1 below).

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Figure1: Structure for implementation, monitoring abd review of the National Alcohol Strategy

Overview of the National Alcohol Strategy

Part one	Introduction

Part two	provides a discussion and overview of key alcohol issues. It covers patterns of consumption, types of alcohol-related harm, and groups at risk of harm, as well as high-risk environments and events.

Part three	lists the alcohol-related priorities for action, and the desired outcomes for each priority, as specified by the National Drug Policy.

Part four	presents a range of strategies for addressing alcohol-related harm. The strategies are grouped into three broad categories – supply control, demand reduction and problem limitation.

Part five	emphasises the importance of professional education in effectively addressing alcoholrelated harm and outlines a range of strategies for workforce development.

Part six	outlines a framework for monitoring and measuring progress towards the National Drug Policy’s alcohol-related outcomes, and presents a number of possibilities for future research.

1 This estimate, expressed in 1991 dollar terms, includes direct costs such as hospital expenses, accident compensation payments, police and justice system costs; and indirect costs like lost production resulting from premature death and sickness, lost working efficiency and excess unemployment. (Of the total amounts, direct costs were estimated to be between $345 million and $592 million each year; indirect costs were estimated to be between $1.1 billion and $1.8 billion.) Other authors (notably Easton 1997) have estimated the social costs of alcohol misuse in New Zealand to be even higher.

2 A national policy on alcohol and other drugs was one of five strategic directions listed in the Government’s national mental health strategy, Looking Forward (Ministry of Health 1994).

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Related information

Other Ministry of Health Strategies

Alcohol in New Zealand

National Drug Policy website