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Canberra: Alcohol causes 15 deaths and hospitalises 430 Australians
every day with the numbers rapidly increasing over the past decade, a
new study released Thursday said. VicHealth and Foundation for Alcohol
Research and Education (FARE) funded the study, and it found 5,554
deaths and 157,132 hospitalisations were caused by alcohol since 2010,
Xinhua reported. The study said that the number of deaths has
increased by 62 percent since the study was last undertaken a decade
ago. FARE chief executive Michael Thorn said Australian governments
can no longer ignore the urgent need for decisive and effective action
to reduce the rising toll. "A decade ago alcohol was responsible for
3,430 deaths per year. Now that figure stands at 5,554. Governments
can't afford to wait another 10 years to act. Only decisive,
evidence-based action will stem Australia's worsening alcohol toll,"
Thorn said. Thorn said population-wide measures that address the
price, promotion and availability of alcohol would not only save lives
but also deliver significant financial savings to cash-strapped
governments. VicHealth also said that this study highlights the
dangers of alcohol and a need to approach Australia' s drinking
problem from all angles.
IANS
