(사진제공=AP통신)
(사진제공=AP통신)
(사진제공=AP통신)
[시드니=AP/KNS뉴스통신] 호주 주류 업계가 12일 호주인들의 술 선호현상을 부추긴다는 비난을 사전에 차단하기 위해 주류제품에 음주가 건강을 해친다는 경고문을 부착하는 자율적 규제를 실시하기로 했다.
호주의 주류업계의 지원을 받고 있는 한 주류소비자 단체는 주로 십대와 임신부를 대상으로 호주에서 술 판매의 80%를 차지하고 있는 맥주, 와인, 위스키 병에 경고문을 부착할 것이라고 발표했다.
이 단체는 전통적으로 음주에 대해 관대한 호주인들의 술 문화를 바꾸기 위해 2005년 설립되었다. 호주에서는 평균 15세에 처음 술을 마시는데 14에서 19세 사이의 청소년들이 한 달에 한번은 위험할 정도를 술을 마시는 것으로 알려졌다.
이번 자율 조치는 미국에서 시행하고 있는 것과 유사한 강제 조치를 호주 정부가 금년 말에 시행하기에 앞서 실시되는 것이다.
호주정부의 통계에 의하면 음주 위험수위의 사람이 1995년 8.2%에서 2004-2005년 13.4%로 증가한 것으로 나타났는데 특히 여성의 증가가 뚜렷하다.
(영문기사 원문)
Australia puts health warnings on booze bottles
SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's liquor industry launched a voluntary program to label its products with health warnings Tuesday, possibly to pre-empt future criticism that it is contributing to excessive drinking that is part of the national culture.
About 80 percent of alcohol sold in the country — beer, wine and spirits — will carry the warnings, primarily aimed at teenagers and pregnant women, said Trish Worth of DrinkWise Australia, a group funded by the alcohol industry.
The group, founded in 2005, aims to overturn the traditionally benign view that Australians have had of drinking, even among teenagers. According to DrinkWise, the average Australian starts drinking alcohol at 15 1/2 years of age and more than a quarter of 14-19 year olds are putting themselves at risk of harm at least once a month.
The voluntary move comes ahead of an expected government decision later this year to make warnings mandatory, similar to the ones in some 14 other countries including the U.S.
Australia's culture of drinking goes back to 1788 when the first settlers — British convicts and their jailers — landed in the country after an eight month voyage. They celebrated the end of their ordeal with a raucous booze-fueled party that established a time-honored tradition.
Former Prime Minister Robert Hawke once held the Guinness World Record for downing two and a half pints of beer in 11 seconds, and former cricket legend David Boon is best known for a 1989 flight from Sydney to London during which he drank 52 beers.
Binge drinking is a problem especially during the so-called "Schoolies Week," marking graduation from high school and often associated with turning 18, the legal age for drinking. Binge drinking often leads to fights, drink driving and unwanted sex.
Ian Hickie, executive director at the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney, said alcohol disrupts brain development, which is at its most intense between age 12 and 20.
But "our teenagers think they are bulletproof," he said. "What is sad in Australia is that the campaign against alcohol is being led by police. We need to have a wider discussion in the community. ... The DrinkWise campaign might precipitate a discussion."
According to government statistics, the proportion of people drinking at high risk level has increased from 8.2 percent in 1995 to 13.4 percent in 2004-2005, when the last National Health Survey was conducted. The increase has been greater for women.
김희광 기자 april4241@naver.com
