Boycott booze for a better Australia

I’m not a fan of sports teams which promote alcohol, and it’s not just because my younger brother died in a drink-driving car accident, aged 23. 

It’s because I view it as unsporting and un-Australian for sport to be used to promote a product which reduces sport performance, kills sportspeople among other Australians, and which is and was completely rejected by many of the most successful sports people, such as Don Bradman.    

Alcohol has been called a complex problem, but alcohol harm could be reduced with simple measures such as banning alcohol advertising, in the same way that the ban on tobacco advertising has greatly reduced tobacco harms. 

There is more reason to ban alcohol ads than to ban tobacco ads.  Alcohol does far more damage than any other drug and more damage to others than to drinkers themselves.  This includes through increased family, domestic and other violence; child abuse; road accidents and harm to unborn babies exposed to alcohol.  Both moderate drinking and moderate smoking have a range of adverse health impacts.

In fact, alcohol has killed more Australians than all wars combined.    

It is wrongly said that alcohol is a major part of Australian culture – it is merely a major part of the lives of a minority of Australians.  It is clearly not specifically Australian, being consumed in many other countries.      

And the facts are that the majority of Australians either don’t drink at all (22% are in this category); drink moderately and do not view alcohol as a significant part of their lives, or overtly pressure others to drink; or only drink because others do and they want to “fit in”. 

The vast majority of the drinking, 75%, is done by only 20% of the population. 

Most Australians think Australia has an alcohol problem and that more should be done to address it.  Those who don’t want to wait for an ad ban can act themselves by not drinking alcohol. 

I don’t drink because I want to make it easier for others not to.  At university I was part of a cricket team and one day another team member said to me “Everyone else on the team is drinking a lot of beer, I don’t want to, but it’s hard not to, I’ve noticed that you never seem to have any trouble saying no, how do you do it?” 

Had I been a moderate drinker my team mate may not have sought my advice – I might have seemed to be just another drinker. 

I also don’t drink because study after study confirms that alcohol contributes to a large proportion of domestic and other violence, as recognized by the World Health Organisation. 

So just as Australia and other countries once boycotted sport in South Africa to protest its racism, I boycott alcohol.  

Alcohol problems might be easier to reduce than commonly thought.  Most drinking is done by “initiators”, i.e. those who drink a lot and encourage or pressure others to do the same, and their “followers”, who drink because they think that “everyone else does”.      

If some moderate drinkers switch to being minimal or non-drinkers, and more non-drinkers remain non-drinkers, then the pool of drinkers will start to evaporate.    

This could result in a tipping point - an accelerated reduction in drinkers as more and more “followers” see that many people don’t drink. 

This process may have started.  High school students who abstain are now in the majority as more parents become better role models regarding alcohol.  We need to increase the trend because one road accident or violent crime caused or contributed to by alcohol is one too many. 

You may have made an independent decision to drink alcohol in moderation, and enjoy it.  If so, ask yourself whether you might get more satisfaction from being a non-drinker and knowing that you are contributing to the creation of a society where there is less alcohol-related harm.    

Most Australians think that the alcohol industry should pay to reduce alcohol harm.  We can make it pay by not buying its products and depriving it of revenue - rather than helping fund its promotion of beer to children who watch sporting telecasts.     

If you are turned off or bored by alcohol or would otherwise prefer not to drink it – don’t.  Don’t drink because your partner, friends or family drink.  Don’t drink because you think everyone does, because that’s not true, and because you owe it to yourself to make your own decision. 

Don’t be influenced by societal pressures to drink.  Do some do-it-yourself social change and influence others not to drink through your example.    

If you avoid alcohol, good things can start to happen.  I don’t just mean that you will feel less tired, depressed, regretful or vulnerable or that you will have more control, more money, better health, better sleep, less body fat, more muscle and no risk of accidents or legal problems due to drinking. 

I mean that you could have better social outcomes.  Respect from your peers as someone who makes their own decisions.  Greater ability to focus on conversations.  Being rid of the inconvenience of trying to calculate the alcohol content of drinks.  You may find that some who drink will go out of their way to provide you with non-alcoholic drinks, or that you will be in demand as a designated driver.  

Much of the supposed social benefit of alcohol is as illusory as the emperor’s new clothes.  Anything worthwhile that can be done with alcohol can be done without it.  And every activity has an opportunity cost.  Time and money spent on alcohol could be used for other ways of socializing and other positive activities and goals.       

Confidently saying no to alcohol always worked for me.  For example, “No, thanks anyway”, or “No thanks, I don’t drink alcohol”.  If you want to be less blunt, you could try “Not right now, thanks”, which implies that you might be a drinker, but doesn’t commit you to ever drinking. 

Or, if you want to shut down in advance questions about your reasons for not drinking, you could try “No thanks, I just don’t like the taste of alcohol”.  This has the added advantages of being hard to rationally argue with, and of reducing any risk of sounding judgmental, since it suggests that your decision is merely based on personal taste.  

Always remember that it’s fine to decline booze, and never impolite.  It’s your life, after all.  Alcohol isn’t worth it.       

Bradman didn’t get to be the best ever batsman by doing what other cricketers did.  He did his own thing and was around 60% better than the next best.  If we want the best society, then let’s not follow what’s been done before in Australia.  Let’s boycott alcohol, along with the sports where players permit themselves to be used as the tools of the alcohol industry.