In partnership with the WA Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (WANADA), Alcohol and Drug Foundation and Telethon Kids Institute, we are releasing the report, ‘WA’s Hidden Crisis: Harm from Alcohol’ on 6 June, to highlight the escalating harm from alcohol in Western Australia.
We need your help to spread the word about harms of alcohol.
The issue
Not enough is being done to prevent the unacceptable growing harms fuelled by alcohol in Western Australia.
In Western Australia, alcohol-caused cancers are responsible for three deaths a week and over 1000 hospitalisations a year. Each week , alcohol is also responsible for eight alcohol-related deaths, 402 hospitalisations and 180 family violence incidents.
Our state has one of the highest rates of emergency department presentations due to alcohol in the country, with one in five emergency department patients on a Saturday night there because of alcohol.
Harms from alcohol have are on the rise. Ambulance callouts for alcohol intoxication increased by eight per cent between 2020 and 2021.
It’s not only the people who drink alcohol that are impacted by alcohol-related harms. Our ability to access urgent medical treatment, the amenity of our communities, safety on our roads, and the health and wellbeing of our children are all impacted too.
Harm from alcohol is preventable and robust evidence is available about what works to prevent harm. We can no longer accept the escalating harms that alcohol products cause to West Australian people, families, and the community. The time to act and prevent alcohol-related harms is now.
Digital campaign ‘Alcohol Fuels many harms’
The report ‘WA’s Hidden Crisis: Harm from Alcohol’ will be released on 6 June alongside a digital campaign ‘Alcohol fuels many harms’. The digital campaign will air on social media platforms and paid digital media channels until end of July.
The digital campaign aims to draw attention to alcohol-related harms in Western Australian and urges immediate action to prevent them.
Above: Examples of the digital campaign assets
How you can help
Once the report and digital campaign launch on 6 June, we encourage you to share the resources within your networks on social media platforms or newsletters.
Together, we can help to protect West Australians from alcohol-related harms.