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Issue #11 March-April 2014

In this edition:

Tena koutou

On the 18^th December last year – the final changes of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 came into force. Because of the timing so close to the festive season, awareness of these important changes has not been widespread. This edition of our updated newsletter highlights some of the major changes with further links to more information, should you chose to read more. The changes around the social supply of alcohol to minors have implications for most people who work in the alcohol field and particularly those who work with whanau and teenagers. Spend a few minutes browsing over the key points – and share them with your colleagues and your clients where appropriate.

Mauri ora, Dave Hookway

Health Promotion Advisor - Alcohol and other Drugs – Northland DHB

In this

Issue:

Parents in the hot seat - new laws on supplying alcohol to minors.

Communities to have a say on local alcohol licensing matters.

Booze hours limited.

Drinking water freely available – increased host responsibility provisions.

Fake IDs - now big trouble.

Irresponsible promotion of alcohol.

Whanau Pack - new 3rd edition

NEW free parenting posters available

PotHelp - a new online resource

Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship.

News and research…

Need more help?

Parents in the hot seat - New laws on supplying alcohol to minors.

The new law puts more limits on young people accessing alcohol, places more responsibility on those who provide alcohol to them, and gives parents more control. You can only supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years if:

· you are their parent or legal guardian; OR

· you have express consent from their parent or legal guardian; OR

· the young person is married, in a civil union or living with a de facto partner ; AND

· the alcohol is supplied in a responsible manner.

Express consent may include a personal conversation, an email or a text message that you have good reason to believe is genuine.

The law applies to everyone, regardless of their age, who supplies alcohol to a young person. Unless you are certain you have permission from a minor's parent or legal guardian, don't give alcohol to anyone under 18. The penalty for breaching the law is a fine of up to $2,000.

Further information for parents – click here.    Further information for young adults – click here.

View the new section of the law here and the entire new Act here. 

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Communities to have a say on local alcohol licensing matters.

The new Act allows territorial authorities (Councils) to offer communities a voice on local alcohol matters through the development of a Local Alcohol Policy (LAP) which will be able to:

· Restrict or extend the trading hours of licenced premises,

· Limit the location and density of licences,

· Limit the location of licences in relation to premises and facilities such as schools and places of worship,

· Impose conditions on licensed premises e.g. one-way doors

LAPs are optional. A local alcohol policy must not include policies on any matter not relating to licensing. A territorial authority may at any time before the adoption of a local alcohol policy discontinue its development.

The Far North District Council is currently working on a draft policy with NZ Police, the licencing inspector and the Northland DHB. Should the Council decide to adopt a provisional policy, it will then give notice of this publically and seek submissions on the draft proposals.

For more information on LAPs click here.

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Booze hours limited.

New maximum trading hours now apply to businesses that sell alcohol. These are:

· 8am - 4am for on-licences and clubs (such as bars, pubs and nightclubs)

· 7am – 11pm for off-licences (such as bottle stores, supermarkets and grocery stores)

Local councils may set different trading hours as part of a local alcohol policy (LAP).

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Drinking water freely available – increased host responsibility provisions.

From 18 December 2013, all on-licences have to supply or make available low- and non-alcohol beverages, food and information about safe transport. Also, businesses receiving an on-licence for the first time or renewing their existing on-licence:

· must supply free water for patrons, and

· will have to meet other conditions required by the local district licensing committee (for example, one-way door restrictions after certain times, security requirements).

Although licenced premises (and clubs) can still charge for bottled water, they must also make water feely available (either by tap or from larger  container), together with clean drinking vessels nearby or upon request.

Also – where alcohol is being offered for “tasting” in promotions (including supermarkets and liquor shops) , water and cups must again be freely available for those sampling.

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Fake IDs - now big trouble.

It is now an offence for someone to use a fake ID, or someone else's ID with the intention of purchasing alcohol.

It is also an offence to even give or lend an ID to an underage person, knowing they intend to use it to buy alcohol.

Anyone who does is committing a crime and may be fined up to $2,000.

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Irresponsible promotion of alcohol.

The new Act introduces significant changes to the advertising and promoting of alcohol. The following types of promotions are offences under the new Act:

· Doing anything likely to encourage excessive consumption of alcohol;

· Offering free alcohol (unless on premises and cannot be seen or heard off premises), except complimentary tasting on off-licences;

· Offering discounts on alcohol of 25% or more below the price that alcohol is “ordinarily sold” (unless on premises and cannot be seen or heard off premises);

· Offering prizes or other goods or services on the condition of purchasing alcohol except in loyalty programmes that are not primarily for alcohol, (unless on premises and cannot be seen or heard off premises);

· Promoting alcohol in any way likely to appeal to minors.

Check out more on what the Act says here on the promotion of alcohol.

Grocery stores and supermarkets can now only display and promote alcohol in one designated area. The purpose of this new rule is to limit how much shoppers are exposed to such promotion. Read about supermarkets and grocery store changes here.

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Whanau Pack - new 3rd edition

It has arrived!! The very popular Northland Whanau Pack free parenting resource has now been updated in a 3^rd edition. In response to requests from throughout New Zealand, 25,000 copies of this unique Tai Tokerau resource have been printed and available for distribution to organisations working with parents, teenagers and whanau.

Project leader Dave Hookway says: “We’ve been overwhelmed with requests for copies of the Whanau Pack and so were able to offer other organisations throughout the country the opportunity to obtain their own copies through the benefit of the larger print run. We are also able to supply free copies to health and community organisations based in Tai Tokerau.”

The new 3^rd edition updates information around the supply of alcohol to minors as reflected by the new law changes which come into effect on the 18^th December and addresses some of the feedback received in response to the earlier two editions.

Download an electronic copy by clicking on the link or the picture above. If you would like to order free copies of the Whanau Pack, click here (don’t forget to include your name, postal address and the number of booklets you would like). 

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NEW free Tai Tokerau parenting posters available

Two new posters have been printed to complement the Whanau Pack. Both feature key messages promoted in the Whanau Pack and are available free upon request. Please click here if you would like to order some copies. Don’t forget to include your name, address and number of posters required.

The new posters form part of a set with the two posters below – which were released earlier this year. Limited stock is still available of these as well, and they too can be ordered here.

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PotHelp - a new online resource.

A new online website has been set up by the NZ Drug Foundation and funded by the Ministry of Health to help “pot” users cut back or quit. PotHelp features compelling stories from people about the highs and lows of their cannabis use and their journey through treatment.

“The stories are from gutsy New Zealanders who stepped forward to share their experience, insight and hope on how they have successfully tackled dependency on cannabis or are somewhere near beginning that journey,” says Drug Foundation Executive Director Ross Bell. “People who are serious about cutting back or giving up cannabis will be able to work their way through the PotHelp online therapy with the support of these stories.”

PotHelp offers users:                                         

· Honest accounts of the process of giving up pot,

· An online treatment programme to help  change their  life for the better, 

· Contact details for a number of New Zealand organisations ready to help achieve freedom from drug dependence.

The online therapy tool was designed by addiction treatment specialists. Check out the website for more information.

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Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship.

The Government has established a forum to consider whether further restrictions should be placed on the marketing of alcohol. The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 introduced stronger controls on alcohol advertising and promotion, such as making it an offence to promote alcohol in a way that appeals to minors and bans free or heavily-discounted promotions.

The Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship will gather evidence and expert advice about the effectiveness of possible advertising or sponsorship controls. The Forum also has a focus on populations that suffer greater harm from alcohol (including Māori, Pacific and young people) and it would be particularly interested in submissions from or relating to these groups. Submissions close at 5pm, Monday 28 April 2014.

For more details on how to make a submission, please click here.

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News and research…

James Bond's Boozing Would Kill Him By Age 56

Liver specialist Dr. Indra Neil Guha from Nottingham University Hospital studied 12 of Ian Fleming’s Bond novels and gathered data on the spy's drinking habits. The results of this research, published in the British Medical Journal and pictured on the right in an infographic, show that Bond is a category 3 drinker. (click on the graphic to read more).

He consumed an average of 92 alcohol units per week, or six to seven drinks a day. That’s more than three times New Zealand’s recommended amount and would leave him at high risk for depression, cirrhosis of the liver, and hypertension.

No safe combination of drinking and driving – Jan 2014

In the latest online edition of Injury Prevention researchers concluded that “there appears to be no safe combination of drinking and driving - even minimally ‘buzzed’ drivers pose increased risk to themselves and to others. Concerns about drink driving should also be extended to ‘buzzed’ driving.”  The term ‘buzzed’ driver was used to describe those with a BAC level of 0.01% – well below the proposed 0.05% level for New Zealand (currently 0.08%). More than 100 countries around the world have limits set at BAC 0.05% percent or below.

Australian study shows little awareness of cancer and alcohol link.

New research into Australian drinking habits has found awareness of the 2009 guidelines for reducing harm from drinking alcohol is low – particularly for men. Males were nearly three times as likely to drink in excess of the guidelines as women and the majority of the population did not see an important link between alcohol and cancer. Like the NZ low-risk guidelines the Australian ones are based on total risk associated with alcohol consumption and the risk differs for each disease, including cancer. A recent study found no safe threshold for alcohol and cancer risk and therefore it is recommended that “to reduce their risk of cancer, people limit  their consumption of alcohol, or better still  avoid alcohol altogether”.

Young adults who ‘pre-load’ are putting themselves at increased risk

The December issue of Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health reported that pre-loading (drinking alcohol before going out to venues such as bars, pubs or clubs) is increasingly recognised as part of young adults’ drinking culture. Accordingly lead author Sarah MacLean, from University of Melbourne says: “When people pre-drink they increase the amount of alcohol consumed over the night, rather than just substituting cheaper off-premises alcohol for more expensive on-premises alcohol.”

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Need more help?

If you are concerned about your own drinking or that of someone close to you, contact the free Alcohol Drug Helpline on 0800-787-797  from 10am to 10pm or visit www.addictionshelp.org.nz.

Remember - In an Emergency - Dial 111

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Compiled and produced by:

Dave Hookway  - Health Promotion Advisor - Alcohol and other Drugs

Northland District Health Board - 55 Hobson Ave, Kerikeri 

Postal address: - PO Box 906, Kerikeri 0230, Bay of Islands 

( Ph (09) 430-4101 x 7895 | Mob 021-221-4027 or Freephone 0800-537-4342 option #3  

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