Most foods are best as fresh as possible. I remember picking peaches at my grandfather’s ranch in Northern California and eating them on the spot. What a taste! But the exceptions to this rule are the…
In a letter to the Abbe Morellet in 1779, Benjamin Franklin mused that the strategic location of the elbow is proof that God desires us to drink wine. After all, had God placed the elbow lower on the arm…
During post-war British rationing, Australians ensured the tradition of Christmas puddings survived.
Victor Bayon
In a current TV advertisement for supermarket chain Aldi, a young traveller returns to his northern hemisphere village and shares his newfound knowledge of the Aussie Christmas. The villagers begrudgingly…
A foetus is not ‘a person’, court rules.
Scan by Shutterstock
A young girl born with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is not entitled to criminal injuries compensation from her mother drinking excessively while pregnant, the Court of Appeal has decided. It was alleged…
Last year almost 80,000 people took part in the Global Drug Survey and helped us produce the world’s first harm-reduction guide. These experts are people who like taking drugs but want to keep themselves…
We are a nation steeped in alcohol; it’s arguably Britain’s favourite drug, and its use is not without consequence and cost to our health and our wealth. These effects are felt at both a national and personal…
Challenging the culture of male violence at night is just as important – if not more so – than the criminal law’s response to the issue.
AAP/David Crosling
The recent killing of 21-year-old Melbourne University student Joshua Hardy is another tragic story of unprovoked, alcohol-fuelled male violence in our community. It is an issue that has animated significant…
On the lash in Germany, 500 years ago.
Barthel Beham, ‘Village Fair’ (German single-leaf woodcut, c. 1530).
Autumn is awash with alcohol, and not just because of the new vintage. Oktoberfest plays a part, too, the 16-day festival in Munich that we associate with massive beer mugs and plenty of debauchery. Its…
Despite the language we use about drugs, many people don’t see themselves as “drug users” but as rational adults who aren’t on a mission to seek moral disintegration and cause themselves harm. People who…
There is growing evidence that alcohol increases the risk of certain types of cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Anders Adermark/Flickr
Australians have become accustomed to labels on cigarettes warning about the risk of smoking causing cancer and other diseases. And our research, published in the latest edition of BMC Public Health, shows…
Rates of co-occurring substance use and mental disorders are particularly high among marginalised groups such as homeless people.
glowcake Berlin/Flickr
Robin Williams’ death earlier this week has unleashed an outpouring of grief. It’s undeniable that Williams brought much joy and laughter to the world, but he also talked openly about his depression and…
The number of hospitalisations and deaths caused by alcohol in Australia
has increased by 62% in a decade.
VILevi/Shutterstock
Chronic disease and injury caused by alcohol has significantly increased over a decade, causing 15 deaths and 430 hospitalisations each day in Australia, according to a new report. The VicHealth and Foundation…
Feeling miserable? Is your nose blocked and your throat sore? If not, it will be sometime this winter, probably at least a couple of times. And then someone will probably say at your low ebb that “you…
Low to moderate consumption of alcohol increases your risk of cancer but reduces your risk of heart disease.
giannisl/Flickr
For many of us, alcohol is an enjoyable backdrop to life: wine with dinner, beers with friends, a glass of bubbly to celebrate a special occasion, or nip of something heavier to unwind after a long day…
Publicans feel major pub owners charge them too much.
David Jones/PA
Many publicans who run pubs owned by large companies earn less than the minimum wage. After years of complaints, finally the government has done something to address this situation. But the regulations…
The responsibility to prevent unwanted sexual attention in licensed venues lies with everyone.
Adam Radosavljevic/Shutterstock
Unwanted sexual behaviour is becoming a normal part of a night out for women, with many reporting they experience anything from comments to groping and sexual assault. Sexual violation of the kind reported…
Since the late Stone Age, people have been drinking alcohol to help them feel better. For the most part, this has been in order to “remember their misery no more” (Proverbs 31:6-7). But it’s widely believed…
Professor, Director of Research and Statistical Support Service and Program Leader for Substance Use and Mental Health, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland