Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

___________________________________________

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Australians debate government battle against booze


Published: November 27, 2008

SYDNEY, Australia: The blood oozes crimson from a jagged gash in the man's head onto the starched white hospital sheet. A booze-fueled bar brawl has left his face shredded, his brain damaged.

Across the emergency room, a clammy-skinned patient who smells like a brewery curls into a fetal position on his gurney, recovering from a near-fatal combination of alcohol and pills.

On a Saturday, St. Vincent's Hospital in the heart of Sydney's nightlife district becomes, in Dr. Gordian Fulde's weary words, "a war zone" of Australia's alcohol casualties.

This is Monday.

Australia has long been known as a nation of beer-loving boozers. But now the government, fed up with what it sees as a growing crisis of out-of-control drinking and subsequent violence, has decided it's time for a change.

. . . . .

Read Full Article

_______________________________________________________________