When I launched “Wiser & Older Safer Drinking throughout Life” in December last year it was already out of date. Why? Because the booklet stated that alcohol was second only to tobacco as a preventable cause of drug-related death and hospitalisation in Australia. But between the printing and the launch it had become the leading preventable cause of drug-related death and hospitalisation.
The booklet has now been updated in this PDF version that you can download directly by clicking here:
“Wiser & Older Safer Drinking throughout Life”
I urge you to download the booklet and have a read, it’s full of interesting and sometimes surprising information. For example, Australians tend to drink more as they get older and in 2010 the highest proportion of daily drinkers in Australia were men over 70.
There’s the definition of a “standard drink” and the reminder that the liver of a healthy adult takes about one hour to remove one standard drink and that nothing can speed the process. There’s also a section on the interaction of alcohol with various medications.
Thanks to the Drug Education Network for producing (and updating) the booklet.
