Since the first ‘Dry July’ in 2008, the campaign has managed to raise in excess of $90million for cancer patients, families and carers.
While the campaign is centred on helping others, by getting on board you’re also helping yourself. A whole month ‘breather’ for the liver, a chance to wash out all those alcohol-related toxins… no downside there!
We all know that the misuse of alcohol has both short-term and long-term impacts on health and wellbeing that go well beyond the throbbing headache that can linger after a ‘big Saturday night’.
But we perhaps don’t realise that alcohol (and nicotine), both legal drugs, kill more Australians than any other drug. Among young Australians, in particular, alcohol-use comes with a host of dangers. It is the leading cause of death – the single biggest killer – of young people under 25.
It is also heavily implicated in partner and family violence. And yet, despite the dangers in alcohol-use, you would barely know it from the advertising and media saturation around alcohol products.
At the end of the day, we need to be aware of the simple facts. Alcohol in large doses is toxic, it can, and does, kill. Excessive drinking also contributes to crime, violence, anti-social behaviours and accidents – in the workplace, on the roads and in the community.
Its impacts over the longer term are particularly damaging; harmful drinking can result in alcohol dependence and associated chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cirrhosis of the liver, early-onset dementia, mental health problems and various cancers.
(See ADA’s A HANDBOOK of Alcohol, Drugs and Workplace Risk pp. 15)
So, perhaps it’s time for a quiet reality check – going dry in July is a good opportunity to ‘take stock’ of our drinking and the modelling we do around alcohol for our children.
An ADA Australia Drug and Alcohol Awareness Program for your workplace can be the first step to getting ‘the culture’ right around substance misuse, in attending to your compliance obligations and in promoting help-seeking behaviours for those struggling with dependency.
Why not get the ball rolling at your workplace by joining the ‘Dry July’ campaign (and an ADA Australia for an alcohol and drugs training program)?
If you’d like to learn more about this program, or any of the other training programs we offer, please call ADA Australia on 1300 378 429 or email: enquiry@adaaus.com.au
If you are worried about your alcohol consumption, and would like to stop drinking for Dry July, consult first with your GP. Also, if this information has raised any concerns for you, please do speak to your GP, or call a helpline: LIFELINE 13 11 14 or BeyondBlue 1300 22 4636.