ActionPoint - “E raka te maui e raka te katau
    “E raka te maui e raka te katau" "A community can use all the skills of its people”
  • Our Drinking Culture
    • Our Drinking Culture
    • Drinking in New Zealand
    • Alcohol harm in New Zealand
    • Our Drinking Environment
    • Cost of alcohol to society
    • The alcohol industry in New Zealand
  • Mobilising Others
    • Mobilising Others
    • Find organisations to help you take action
    • Find other community members who may join with you
    • Develop your skills
    • Engage with Policymakers
    • Other Action Ideas
  • Campaigns
    • Campaigns
    • FASD Awareness Month
    • Protect Kids
    • Unite against COVID-19 – Helping whānau & communities prevent alcohol issues
    • Uncap Our Potential
  • Facebook Group

Pages tagged "Connect with Community Champions"


Take Action

Posted in 3. Alcohol and the great outdoors

Here's how you can take action to protect our stunning outdoor spaces.

1. Be a positive role model

Enjoy our natural environment without alcohol. This is especially important if you have a role as a parent or caregiver of children and young people.

If you do decide to take alcohol into the great outdoors, firstly check if there are alcohol bans or restrictions in place, and plan to drink responsibly.

Remember to bring your empty containers back to dispose of them appropriately.


2. Record and report local problems

If you notice any concerning behaviour or damage, report this to the appropriate authority as soon as you can. This might be the Department of Conservation (there may be a ranger on duty), or the local/regional councils. Make sure you advise them of how alcohol has contributed to the problem.

Any serious issues affecting the safey of yourself and/or others should be reported to the Police or other emergency services.

For more information, please check out the sub-section on Alcohol in public places


3. Advocate for change

If the problems are persistent it could be time for the appropriate authorities to consider putting some alcohol restrictions in place.

  • Contact the relevant authority and discuss your concerns
  • Refer to Alcohol Control Bylaws for more information

Get Prepared

Posted in 3. Alcohol and the great outdoors

Alcohol-free great outdoors

Terriorial Authorities (local Councils) can implement alcohol bylaws (alcohol bans) in public places, including beaches.

For more information on alcohol bylaws/bans in public places, please check out the sub-section - Alcohol in public places. 

Camping grounds in New Zealand can be owned by local Councils, Department of Conservation or private companies. 

Regional Parks are not currently alcohol-free. Regional Councils do not have the powers to make alcohol bylaws / bans. You could always approach them to create their own policy.


Boating and alcohol

You can be prosecuted for operating a boat in a manner that causes unnecessary danger, under section 65 of the Maritime Transport Act.

If you’ve been drinking, the risks escalate the moment you end up in the water. Alcohol can:

  • decrease your coordination and ability to perform a simple task, such as putting on a lifejacket
  •  increase your sense of disorientation
  • make it harder for you to stay afloat
  • lower the concentrations of blood going to your brain and muscles, contributing to muscle, heat and fluid loss and speeding up the onset of hypothermia
  • reduce your ability to hold your breath
  • suppress your airway protection reflexes so you are more likely to inhale water
  • give you a false sense of your situation, causing you to attempt tasks beyond your abilities; and reduce your awareness of the onset of hypothermia.

For more information on alcohol and boating, click here


Case for Change

Posted in 3. Alcohol and the great outdoors

Many New Zealanders consume alcohol in outdoor public places.

There may be bans on alcohol consumption in some outdoor spaces, in certain times of the day or year.

Large gatherings of people in outdoor spaces can present risks for alcohol-related harm. This is especially so during festive occasions such as New Year's Eve. 

Alcohol use poses high risks at events that involve water-based activities. Impairment begins well below intoxication levels - this is very important to keep in mind.

Alcohol plays a role in New Zealand's horrific drowning statistics.

Alcohol and the great outdoors

New Zealand has amazing outdoor areas (regional parks, beaches, rivers, and lakes, etc.).

Drinking alcohol in these areas present a number of inherent risks to users. Just like local Councils can implement alcohol bans in public places such as beaches, so too can Regional Councils in the parks and open spaces that they manage.

To find out more, check out the  sub-section on alcohol and public places as well as addressing alcohol use in public places through using liquor bylaws.


Alcohol use in the great outdoors

When New Zealand drinkers were asked about the locations that they drank alcohol (in 2007/08), around 15% of past-year drinkers reported drinking in outdoor public places.


Alcohol use at beaches

As stated above, many beaches may have alcohol bans which prohibit drinking in certain times of the day or year.

Binge drinking may occur in the great outdoors, especially when there are gatherings of many people. 

Excessive use of alcohol in public places may cause significant alcohol-related problems and public disorder especially during festive occasions such as New Year's Eve. Alcohol-related problems have also occurred on National Crate Day in previous years:

  • In 2016, there were 29 arrests, 6 people were treated for lacerations on their feet caused by broken bottles, and one person was hospitalised for alcohol poisoning.
  • In 2015, a police riot squad was called to Manly Beach (also in Hibiscus Coast, Auckland), where over 300 people were drinking, to restore order.  

In 2017, the Police decided to impose a temporary alcohol ban on the parks and beaches of the Hibiscus Coast over the first weekend of December, in order to prevent the problems of previous years.  


Alcohol use and water sports

Alcohol use may pose certain risks when performing outdoor activities. Impairment begins well below intoxication levels - this is very important to keep in mind.

The following information was cited in the report Alcohol, Injuries and Violence:

Alcohol use is a risk factor in drowning, with the risk increasing as blood alcohol content increases. Drinking is associated with a 10-fold increase in reckless behaviour such as the violation of safety rules and swimming in unauthorised areas . Blood alcohol levels of 100mg/dl (BAC 0.10) or greater increases the risk of drowning by 16 times.

Between 2008 and 2012, 13% of all drowning deaths were alcohol-related. This equates to 71 lives. Alcohol is considered to be a factor in poor supervision of children who have drowned.

More than half of these occurred during swimming, fishing and accidentally falling into water. Higher rates are particularly found among Māori, Pacifica, males and young adults.

Drinking on boats causes around three deaths each year in New Zealand.

Alcohol is also implicated in land-based fishing drownings, paddle-sports fatalities and underwater activities.

Skippers of recreational boats are not bound by a legal blood alcohol limit. 

The economic cost of a fatal drowning is estimated at $3.4 million.

There is limited data on alcohol-related non-fatal drownings, near drownings and other aquatic injuries.

Bibliography:

Browne ML, Lewis-Michl EL, Stark AD. Watercraft-related drownings among New York state residents, 1988–1994. Cited in Alcohol, Boating and Water recreation facts. European Child Safety Alliance. 2011.
Bell NS, Amoroso PJ, Yore MM, et al. Alcohol and other risk factors for drowning among male active duty U.S. army soldiers. Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine 2001;72(12):1086-1095.
DrownBase™-Water Safety New Zealand. DrownBase™. 2012. 
Maritime New Zealand. Boating Safety Strategy: 2007 Review of the New Zealand Pleasure Boating Safety Strategy. Wellington: Maritime New Zealand, 2008.
Chalmers D, Morrison L. Epidemiology of non-submersion injuries in aquatic sporting and recreational activities. Sports Medicine 2003;33(10):745-70.
Davis M, Warner M, Ward B. Snorkelling and scuba diving deaths in New Zealand, 1980-2000. South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society 2002;32(2):70-80.
DrownBase™-Water Safety New Zealand. DrownBase™. 2012.


Take Action

Posted in Alcohol in sports and other clubs

Are you a member of any sporting or other club?

YES  NO

 


Get Prepared

Posted in Alcohol in sports and other clubs

Clubs can provide an important place for building knowledge and skills, fitness and physical activity, cultural or artistic expression as well as social connection. Clubs often provide essential facilities and activities for children and young people so it is important to ensure these environments are safe and supportive of good health and well-being.

However, alcohol consumption can sometimes undermine these benefits and threaten the viability of the club. For example, problems can arise if one or more of the members are bringing their problematic drinking into the club environment, spectators are drinking prior to and/or during the game, or after-match functions or club events involve heavy drinking.

Here''s what you need to know before taking action.


Case for Change

Posted in Alcohol in sports and other clubs

Participation in sport is very popular in New Zealand, across all ages. Some people play sport, others volunteer as coaches, trainers, etc.

The importance of sport in the culture of New Zealand highlights the role of clubs in providing a healthy environment, especially for children and young people.

Sport is a primary vehicle for the promotion of alcohol in New Zealand. Many professional teams in New Zealand are sponsored by alcohol companies.

Players who receive alcohol sponsorship are more likely to drink heavily. 

Many clubs in New Zealand are licensed to sell alcohol; the management of alcohol in these settings needs extra care given the presence of young people.

Sports clubs can take important action to reduce harm to their participants, but also help to change the wider drinking culture.

Participation in sport is popular

In a large survey of New Zealand adults in 2015, 4 out of 10 (44.4%) persons reported that they were members of one or more clubs, gyms or recreational centres. Almost 1,000,000 adults volunteered in sport and recreation, and over one in ten adults took on the role of a coach / trainer /teacher / instructor.

In a 2011 survey of New Zealand children and adolescents (5-18 years), 60% of boys and 50% of girls belonged to a sports club. Four out of every ten volunteered in sports activities. 

In relation to 15-18 year olds, 51% of boys and 47% of girls belonged to a sport club in the past year.

The importance of sport in the culture of New Zealand highlights the role of clubs in providing a health-promoting setting. The importance of sports clubs as a setting to reduce alcohol consumption is highlighted in the World Health Organisation Global Alcohol Strategy. 


Relationship between sport and heavy drinking

Many adults who are involved in sport, whether participants or spectators, are heavy drinkers. Among sportspeople, heavy drinking is also associated with other risky behaviours such as drink-driving, unprotected and unplanned sex and antisocial behaviour.

A systematic review of sponsorship studies found that all studies reported positive associations between exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship and self-reported alcohol consumption, but the statistical significance of results varied. Two studies found indirect exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship was associated with increased levels of drinking amongst schoolchildren, and five studies found a positive association between direct alcohol sports sponsorship and hazardous drinking amongst adult sportspeople.

The relationship between heavy alcohol use and sports participation is complex. As mentioned in the Advertising and Sponsorship section, sport is a primary vehicle for the promotion of alcohol in New Zealand.


Relationship between alcohol sports sponsorship and heavy drinking 

Alcohol industry sports sponsorship has been shown to play a role in increasing binge drinking among those who participate in sport clubs/events.

In a study of New Zealand sportspeople, 48% reported that they received sponsorship from an alcohol sponsor and 47% indicated that they received free and/or discounted alcohol products. New Zealand players who received sponsorship at the individual, team and/or club level were found to be more likely to drink hazardously than those who do not receive sponsorship. In particular, those who received free and/or discounted alcohol and/or felt that they should go to the sponsor's pub/club to drink were also more likely to drink hazardously. These results have also been found in Australia, whereby sports players who receive sponsorship were found to be more likely to be hazardous drinkers than those who did not.

Sponsorship in sports clubs may take several forms:

  • Sponsors can place alcohol advertising on sports people's clothing, clubrooms, websites, etc;
  • Sponsors can negotiate sole pourage and/or brand rights for a sports club;
  • Sponsored sportspeople may feel a duty to visit the sponsor's’ establishment with friends and supporters after games or practices, and/or drink the sponsor’s products.

Clubs as a supplier of alcohol

Many sports clubs have a liquor licence.  As such, as a licensed premises they also present a risk for alcohol-related harm. Rather than being a place to promote health and wellbeing, a sports club may present a risk for hazardous drinking. In a New Zealand study of Pacific adolescent drinkers, participating in a sports team or sports club outside of school was found to increase the likelihood that an adolescent reported binge drinking.

Sports clubs can reduce the risk of hazardous drinking by its members if they:

  • Prohibit free or cheap alcohol promotions (e.g. happy hour promotions)
  • Prohibit drinking games
  • Prohibit the sale of alcohol via roaming sale in stands
  • Restrict/cease alcohol-related sponsorship

Click here to go to the References page 


CONTACT US

09 520 7036

[email protected]

PO Box 99407, Newmarket
Auckland 1149, New Zealand

ABOUT US

Delivered by Alcohol Healthwatch, an organisation dedicated to reducing and preventing alcohol-related harm in Aotearoa through effective health promotion.

Sign in with Facebook, Twitter or email.
Copyright 2018 ActionPoint | Built by For Purpose | Created with NationBuilder