At a National, State and Local level the normalisation of excessive alcohol consumption has been a significant issue and deterrent to the health and wellbeing of all communities.
Harmful alcohol consumption can have serious effects on your physical and emotional health and wellbeing, with increased risks of chronic disease, injury and premature death. Alcohol related harm can impact you and the people and communities around you.
How does alcohol impact your health?
Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to a range of health issues including:
- liver problems
- cardiovascular issues
- cancer
- mental health problems
- addiction
- accidents and injuries
- social and behavioural issues.
Alcohol consumption during adolescence can have significant and lasting effects on brain development, such as:
- impaired cognitive function
- altered brain structure
- increased risk of addition
- emotional impact
- risk taking behaviour.
These effects can impact a young persons education attainment, employment opportunities, relationships and overall quality of life.
For more information on the health impacts of alcohol visit The Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
"Alcohol is one of the top 10 avoidable causes of disease and death in Victoria" VicHealth - Alcohol Harm Prevention.
Whilst alcohol is legal, and generally socially accepted, there are ways to manage your alcohol consumption to minimise the risks and harm from drinking alcohol on you and the people around you.
For tips on minimising your alcohol consumption visit the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
Reducing health risks from drinking alcohol
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) developed The Australian Guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol to inform Australians on the health risks associated with drinking alcohol and how to reduce these risks.
The less you drink, the lower the risk of harm from alcohol. The guidelines state that:
- To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than four standard drinks on any one day
- To reduce the risk of injury and other harms to health, children and young people under 18 years of age should not drink alcohol
- To prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol
For more detailed information about the guidelines read the Australian Guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol.
Standard drinks
Do you know what a standard drink is? It can be difficult to know how much you can safely drink to be healthy and follow the recommended guidelines.
Read the standard drinks guidelines on the Australian Guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol page.
Check out the Drinking calculator on the Alcohol and Drug Foundation - Australian alcohol guidelines page.
In 2023, Council received funding from VicHealth to explore the depth of alcohol harm impacting our community. Through consultation with local key stakeholders and collecting relevant health data, a community alcohol profile and subsequent action plan to address these impacts was developed.
See a 2023 summary of alcohol usage in our shire(PDF, 926KB) or read the complete Mount Alexander Community Alcohol Profile 2023(PDF, 5MB).
The key impacts for our community were:
- In general Mount Alexander Shire fairs well in overall health behaviours, compared to the Victorian average, with exception of alcohol consumption
- We have a higher rate of single occasion risky drinking (53.5% of the population) compared to Victoria (41.8% of the population)
- Mount Alexander Shire has a higher rate (per 100,000 population) of death compared to the State and City of Greater Bendigo
- We have a higher rate of (per 100,000 population) of alcohol related family violence than the State
- We have a lower rate of treatment referrals than the State and all other neighbouring shires. This could be related to the lack of appropriate local services, or people requesting to be treated outside of the shire.
- We have a higher than average level of alcohol consumption
In April 2024, Council received further funding from VicHealth to implement the health promotion actions from the Mount Alexander Alcohol Harm Prevention Action Plan that was developed in 2023. Council is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of its residents as stated in the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan.
Some of the ways Council is currently preventing alcohol related harm include:
- Alcohol and drug free youth events and Mondo Lounge youth space activities
- Delivery of Teen Mental Health First Aid training to students at Castlemaine Secondary College which includes a session on substance misuse
- Delivery of Youth Mental Health First Aid training to teachers, parents and community which includes a session on substance misuse
- Participating and promoting Dry July. Find out more about Dry July.
- Promotion of evidence based information to raise awareness about the impacts of alcohol including resources and support services
Alcohol harm prevention working group
A local key stakeholder working group has been established, facilitated by Council, to support delivery of the identified actions. Members of this working group include:
- Mount Alexander Shire Council
- Castlemaine Secondary College
- Victoria Police
- Dhelkaya Health
- Loddon Mallee Public Health Unit
- The Bridge Hotel
- The Alcohol and Drug Foundation
- Solomon Islander community representative
The project actions include:
- Establish a key local stakeholder network
- Develop an education and awareness program for parents on impacts of alcohol on young people
- Dedicated page on Council website for awareness information and resources
- Support sporting clubs to reduce harm from alcohol and encourage participation in Good Sports Program
- Identify suitable education program for year 10, 11 and 12 students at Castlemaine Secondary College
To find out more about the project you can read the following updates:
Information and resources
Support services