Queensland women abandon heavy boozing as harmful drinking rate plummets

New figures show that the numbers of young Queensland women drinking heavily have been almost halved following a successful alcohol awareness initiative by the State Government.

Premier Anna Bligh said that binge drinking was still a huge problem among young women in Queensland but the new figures showed that the Government’s Young Women and Alcohol Campaign was making inroads.

“The Young Women and Alcohol Campaign is proving a real success in reducing the amount of harmful drinking among young Queensland women,” Ms Bligh said.

“Research shows that over the past four years since the campaign started, nearly 90,000 young Queensland women have taken action to reduce harmful drinking.

“New figures show that 69 per cent of the target market – women aged 18 to 22 – made or have attempted to make some positive behaviour change in relation to their alcohol consumption.”

Before the Young Women and Alcohol campaign was launched four years ago, research showed that 60 per cent of women in the 18-22 age group were drinking at high-risk levels.

Four years later this has almost halved to 34 per cent, equating to an estimated 88,190 young women who successfully reduced their harmful drinking, and 2633 who attempted to change how they drink.

“This is good news, but we can’t afford to become complacent, which is why we’ve made a commitment as part of our Toward Q2 vision to cutting heavy drinking by a third in Queensland,” Ms Bligh said.

“Programs like Young Women and Alcohol are essential if we’re to fulfil our vision of making Queenslanders Australia’s healthiest people by 2020.”

The last phase of the Young Women and Alcohol campaign targeted binge drinking via cinema, magazine and television ads, as well as advertisements in bars and nightclubs.

A new round of television advertising will get underway today, with ads also set to be rolled out at licensed venues, bus shelters and universities.

Ms Bligh said Young Women and Alcohol was bringing about positive changes in young women’s drinking behaviour.

“These include cutting back on the amount of alcohol consumed and the number of times they drink, switching to low-alcohol drinks and stopping drinking,” she said.

“We’re not out to lecture young women, but we do need to make them aware of the negative health and social consequences of excessive alcohol consumption.

“This is a particularly important message over Christmas and New Year - times when many people drink excessively.

Research conducted as part of the campaign found young women were looking for more control and balance in their lives, particularly “reluctant drinkers”.

“The campaign aims to empower young women to make their own decisions about their drinking by showing that it is OK to say ‘no thanks’,” Ms Bligh said.

“It’s about emphasising the benefits of drinking less and stressing how good it feels to be in control of your drinking.

The campaign is supported by the Feeling Good website, which provides information and assistance to help young women change their drinking habits.

For more information visit www.feelinggood.com.au