A recent survey of first-year university students in Canberra revealed that most of them (80 per cent) drink to get drunk. Of those surveyed, 63 per cent felt comfortable with how much alcohol they consumed.
Advocacy group FARE (Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education) said the visibility of drunken behaviour has given students a distorted view of heavy drinking.
They see visible binge-drinking and get the impression that this is normal at university.
A study last month on global alcohol consumption revealed that heavy drinkers have a lower life expectancy. This alarming study doesn’t seem to be deterring university students from heavily drinking, a practice they often carry throughout their life.
FARE says excessive drinking is a learned behaviour, so drinking moderately can also be learned.
Let’s remember our role as servers of alcohol to serve alcohol in a moderate and responsible way. Find out more about Responsible Service of Alcohol training here.