Mood:
don't askTopic: health
There's quite a bit of coverage about the alcohol industry, aka culturally 'acceptable' drug pushers, in the washout from PM Rudd fanning a 'moral panic' over binge drinking:
- 20 March 08 Advertisers and alcohol industry prepare for inquiry showdown ...
- 20 March 08 Alcohol ads ban 'ignores internet' | The Australian
- 19 March 08 New liquor rules will ruin us: pubs
- 20 March 06 page 3 'girl' Sydney Daily Telegraph
How country superstar Catherine Britt beat grog | NEWS.com.au ...
- 21 March 08 Liquor giants call time on alcopops
- 21 March 08 Closing time: court upholds hotel decision JULIAN LEE | Days of sickly sweet alcopops laced with energy may be numbered.
We totally agree with putting the weights on the disaster of binging. Been there done that. We even spent 12 months slog work in a fine wine and liquor shop called KM Lynch in Warrnambool in our gap year out of school. A pretty miserable education in human nature it was too.
But make no mistake the pushers are working their corner as is their democratic right, the alternative being all the ills of prohibition. We noticed this push in the retail adverts:
And judging by the Big Media content there is quite a way to go - a caller pre 7 am told Simon Mahoney yesterday that she dreaded the chaos of Easter break with 6 adults and 7 children on the south coast so she was off to get a few bottles of wine for several drinks. How's that for gormless recruitment exemplar? The lesson for today children, when stressed out turn to drink. That's the perils of talkback.
And today the Good Friday Telegraph has a dating article featuring happy times in a boozy pub facing off with the singles. Same lesson - stressed getting a partner? Turn to your local alcohol/pub scene and get over it. It's arguable whether this page 3 story same newspaper really balances the situation. Looks like the cashed up pubs and alcohol industry haven't got too much to worry about yet.
