Aussie men say they don't drink too much

http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2008/mar/13/aap-aussie-men-say-they-dont-drink-too-much/

Aussie men say they don't drink too much

4:14p.m. 13 March 2008

Australian men typically consume almost four times the recommended alcohol intake in a drinking session, but most don't believe they binge drink, new research shows.

A national survey into drinking attitudes found 79 per cent of Australians do not believe they drink too much - but reckon others do.

The survey, produced for the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER), showed men consumed almost four times the recommended alcohol guidelines in a typical drinking session, and women twice as much.

The guidelines recommend no more than two standard drinks a day.

Some 60 per cent of the 1,000 respondents agreed Australians drink too much, and another 36 per cent say their friends or family consume too much alcohol.

The survey found 21 per cent of respondents said they had passed out at least once as a consequence of drinking, with 75 per cent saying there was peer pressure to drink alcohol.

The survey results come just days after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced a $53 million program as an initial attempt to put a cap on binge drinking among young Australians.

AER chief executive Daryl Smeaton said the survey results raised concerns about conflicting attitudes towards excessive drinking.

"Whilst many Australians recognise we have a national drinking problem, when it comes to our personal everyday drinking habits, it seems most people are more comfortable turning a blind eye, or pointing the finger at other people," Mr Smeaton said.

"Most Australians will not acknowledge that they drink at risky levels.

"(But) there is a clear belief that friends, and Australians in general, are drinking too much.

"Australians need to shift the 'it's not me, it's them' attitude concerning drinking habits before we can start to change the way we drink."

Mr Smeaton said alcohol misuse cost the Australian economy a conservative $15.3 billion a year.

"The government has made a powerful commitment to undertaking preventative work to help reduce this toll and AER welcomes this commitment," he said.

© AAP