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Alcohol is a depressant. This means that it slows down the messages travelling between the brain and body which affects the way you think, feel and behave. Alcohol is a very strong drug, and it can cause extreme harm to our health. Large quantities of alcohol are poisonous but even small amounts are very dangerous for developing brains.
If you are planning on having a baby or during pregnancy the safest option is to drink no alcohol at all. (No Safe Drinking for Bub - Central Australian Aboriginal Congress)
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Open letter on Northern Territory Alcohol Policy October 2024: Putting the health, wellbeing and safety of Territorians first
Dear Chief Minister the Hon Lia Finocchiaro,
We are writing to urge you to put the health, wellbeing and safety of Territorians first, by keeping in place measures that work to reduce harms from alcohol.
Alcohol causes a great deal of harm to far too many Territorians. Measures that control the availability and accessibility of alcohol, like the Minimum Unit Price and reduced trading hours for alcohol outlets have proven to reduce harm, which has been proven to save lives.
As leaders of health, community, Aboriginal and research organisations, we see the impact of effective alcohol policies in keeping our communities safe, and we strongly oppose any moves to remove these policies.
If these policies are removed or relaxed, we know we will see increases in violence against women and children, more people hospitalised because of chronic diseases and more deaths.
Please engage with us, listen to us and consult with communities who experience firsthand the impact of alcohol on our families.
We know all too well what happens when decisions are quickly made without community engagement and consideration of the evidence.
As you know from July 2022 to early 2023, restricted area legislative provisions were allowed to lapse across the Northern Territory despite warnings from community leaders of the increased harm that this would cause, and the result was a very significant increase in violence and other harm, especially to women.
At the recent National Cabinet meeting, alongside the Prime Minister and all First Ministers you acknowledged the role of alcohol in exacerbating violence against women and children and committed to reviewing alcohol laws and their impact on victim-survivors of family violence.
Your government’s consideration of the removal of Minimum Unit Pricing will not make women and children in the Northern Territory safer. It will increase violence and harm. Any increase in trading hours will have a similar effect.
We urge you to abandon any plans to remove or relax these policies, and to prioritise the health, wellbeing and safety of families and communities.
Signed,
Dalgarno Institute (Source: FARE)
See Also:
Warnings of NT 'rivers of grog' as minimum alcohol price abolished _ The Australian
Open Letter to NT Gov - 16 October 2024
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Gove Peninsula alcohol reduction trial extended by 12 months
An alcohol reduction program being managed by the Gove Peninsula community is being extended for 12 more months after a successful six-month trial.
The peninsula, situated in the north-eastern corner of Arnhem Land, saw the trial introduced in October last year in an effort to help reduce rising rates of alcohol-related crime and domestic and family violence, as well as secondary supply.
The trial sets daily limits on the amounts of takeaway alcohol purchases by permit holders, which varies by tier and location within the Peninsula.
The Northern Territory government has extended the trial after preliminary data indicated it was having a positive impact on the community. There has been a reduction in alcohol related assaults across the Peninsula as well as a reduction in the number of presentations to the Gove District Hospital for alcohol related issues.
The Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation represents the Rirratjingu people, the Traditional Owners of the Gove Peninsula. Rirratjingu leader Mandaka Marika said the corporation supported the NT government's decision.
"Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation supports extending the trial for a further 12 months, and setting a maximum take-away limit to reduce secondary supply of alcohol," he said.
Gumatj leader Djawa Yunupingu said they were "supportive" of the permit system being extended, arguing, "we have seen the damages alcohol causes too often".
"We are taking actions to build a better future for this region, and we hope all community members understand the role they have to play in this challenging enterprise," Mr Yunupingu said.
A review in 2021 by the Gove Peninsula Harmony Group found while there were improvements needed for the previous permit system, there was no great desire to abandon it. Instead, data showed secondary supply was a key problem.
"There was support for the current measures to be maintained or enhanced." the review said. "Unrestricted permits were regarded as the prime source of secondary supplies."
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Study: No More Than 6 Teaspoons of Added Sugar per Day
JAMA. Published online April 19, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.6285
Moderate-quality evidence has tied high intake of sugars, particularly those containing fructose, with a range of poor outcomes, such as obesity in children, coronary heart disease, and depression, according to an umbrella review of 73 meta-analyses that included 8601 studies, a majority of which were observational.
Low-quality evidence linked each additional serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage per week with a 4% higher risk of gout. Each extra cup per day of a sugar-sweetened drink was associated with a 17% and a 4% higher risk of coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality, respectively.
“[W]e recommend reducing the consumption of free sugars or added sugars to below 25 g/day,” the researchers wrote in The BMJ. That translates to about 6 teaspoons daily. The authors also advised limiting sugar-sweetened beverages to less than 1 a week.