Dealing With The Disease

Kevin Rudd is trying to deal with the issue of binge drinking, especially amongst teens. I am reminded of a statement from an ad for child sponsorship:

“The problem is so big, what can I do?......You can do plenty.”

So what can Kevin Rudd do?

• Ban alcohol all together – imagine the protests at this. Of course it will never happen because the government earns a lot in taxes on alcohol and on the sellers of alcohol.
• Raise the legal age of consumption – more likely to happen, although I’m not sure if it would make much of a difference.
• Graphic ads like those for smoking – some say the graphic ads don’t work because people still smoke. All I can say is that I won’t smoke and the ads reaffirm that stance. As far as alcohol is concerned, well surely it will at least open some eyes as too al the health risks involved with binge drinking.
• Limit late night trading for clubs and pubs – a 60 Minutes report pointed out the fact that most alcohol fuelled violence happens between 1 am and 3am. All reports of our footy stars getting into trouble seem to happen during this time frame.

What has he done?
Well not much, but he has forged links with major sporting organizations. He will also use his meeting with all state premiers to discuss some national laws for the selling of alcohol to minors.

A good start but gee, the problem is so big. Good luck to him.