DHBs around the country joined forces calling on the government to support them with best practice alcohol policies; our Southern DHB tells us why we joined the call.

All twenty of Aotearoa’s District Health Boards (DHBs) recently made a collective call for the country’s liquor laws to be reviewed, in a bid to improve health and equity.

This is the first time the collective heads of all DHBs have joined forces in this way to call for a law change. 

Their collective position statement on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 recommends the Government take effective actions on the three strongest drivers of alcohol use and harm: the price, availability and advertising of alcohol. 

The DHBs underpinned these calls with a wealth of high-quality, consistent evidence, and echo previous recommendations made by our Law Commission in 2010, Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship in 2014, and Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry in 2018.

The position statement says despite a number of substantial government reviews and reports recommending action over the last decade, little action of any consequence has yet been taken. The following is a brief excerpt:

That the DHBs could come to agreement on their position is a sign of a collective understanding of two basic issues: that we need to follow the research evidence to choose policies that will be effective in reducing harm from alcohol, and the importance of giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi for reducing overall harm and the disproportionate harm currently affecting Māori.

We asked Southern DHB Medical Officer of Health Dr Michael Butchard to explain more about why Public Health South fully supports the position statement for our region.

“Around four percent of all emergency department (ED) admissions in the Southern region are alcohol-related, with around half of those being in the 18-24 year age group,” he responds. 

“Alcohol is also responsible for causing long term harm; for example over 4% of cancer deaths in New Zealand are caused by alcohol.”

Globally, Dr Butchard says, alcohol is responsible for 5.3% of all deaths. In the high income country group of which New Zealand is part, ischaemic heart disease is the leading cause of deaths that are attributable to alcohol.

In a statement to media after the release of the DHB position statement, Alcohol Healthwatch executive director, Dr Nicki Jackson said that since the 2012 liquor laws came into force, the affordability of alcohol has increased substantially, alcohol advertising remains pervasive, and councils and communities have been unsuccessful in their efforts to restrict local alcohol availability. 

This maintains an environment, she says, that promotes heavy drinking and drowns out calls made by our communities for urgent change.

“Our DHBs are our leaders in health and have called for urgent change - they deserve to be heard. 

“We need to act now to reduce the burden of alcohol on our health services and enable current and future generations to thrive.”

Southern DHB Acting General Manager for Mental Health Addictions and Intellectual Disability, Steve Bayne says Central Otago residents who need help with alcohol addiction should start by visiting their general practice for appropriate advice and to find where they can access help. 

Referrals can be made to the Specialist Addiction Team if required.

He also provided websites that have good advice about alcohol addiction:

Alcoholics Anonymous - AA - Aotearoa/New Zealand

www.alcoholdrughelp.org.nz

www.alcohol.org.nz

www.healthpoint.co.nz

www.livingsober.org.nz

To read our original story, click Historic position statement from DHBs on alcohol