Drug and alcohol review
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Drug and alcohol review · Mar 2012
Know your limits: awareness of the 2009 Australian alcohol guidelines among young people.
Young people are at high risk of alcohol-related harm and injury. This study assessed awareness of the 2009 Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol, understanding of alcohol-related risks and drinking behaviours among young people. ⋯ Although raising awareness of alcohol-related risks may promote reduced alcohol consumption, many young people reported consuming alcohol at harmful levels despite having an accurate understanding of alcohol-related risks. Multiple approaches to reducing alcohol-related harm in young people should be considered.
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Drug and alcohol review · Mar 2012
The basis for Canada's new low-risk drinking guidelines: a relative risk approach to estimating hazardous levels and patterns of alcohol use.
Low-risk drinking guidelines have been developed independently in a number of jurisdictions resulting in different sets of advice with different definitions of 'low risk'. This paper discusses some of the fundamental issues addressed by an expert advisory panel during the course of developing national guidelines for Canadians and summarises key sets of evidence that were influential. ⋯ It was estimated that total compliance with these guidelines at a national level would result in substantially reduced per capita alcohol consumption and approximately 4600 fewer deaths per year.
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Drug and alcohol review · Mar 2012
Perceptions of low-risk drinking levels among Australians during a period of change in the official drinking guidelines.
In 2009, the National Health and Medical Research Council released a revision of Australia's official low-risk alcohol guidelines, specifying low-risk consumption levels for both short- and long-term consumption. This study aims to assess how the general population's assessment of low-risk drinking levels compares to these guidelines and to examine whether the changes to the official guidelines corresponded with changes in perceptions of low-risk drinking levels in the population. ⋯ There is very little knowledge of the official drinking guidelines among the general Australian population. If drinking guidelines are to have any effect on levels of consumption, a more concerted effort to publicise them is necessary.
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Drug and alcohol review · Mar 2012
My cup runneth over: young people's lack of knowledge of low-risk drinking guidelines.
If young people are to consume alcohol in accordance with government guidelines, they must possess the relevant knowledge and skills. No previous research has examined correlations between different forms of knowledge of alcohol guidelines or how they are related to personality variables and beliefs. ⋯ Many young people may lack the knowledge required to monitor their alcohol consumption or give accurate self-reports in research. Future research should evaluate using a drink-pouring task as part of interventions designed to improve knowledge and skills and encourage moderate consumption of alcohol.
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Drug and alcohol review · Mar 2012
Clear criteria based on absolute risk: reforming the basis of guidelines on low-risk drinking.
The paper discusses the approach behind the Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking of 2009. The Guidelines involved a new approach to the central conundrum of low-risk drinking guidelines: how to set a guideline threshold on smooth risk curves. ⋯ The approach described brings alcohol guidelines within a general analytical frame of guidelines and standards for hazards to health. At the level of 1 in 100 lifetime risk, there is little justification for different guidelines for men and women. On grounds of differential risk, separate guidelines for young adults might be considered, but could not be based on lifetime risk.