Heavy drinking is the Australian way for many, and Australia Day is the day more young people are involved in harmful alcohol-related incidents, such as assaults and car accidents, than on any other public holiday, research has found.
Australia Day is the No1 holiday for people aged under 25 requiring emergency medical attention for being drunk, with more than double the usual number of ambulance call-outs and a 50per cent increase in presentations at emergency departments.
Young people treated for injuries due to assaults double on Australia Day, according to the findings of a VicHealth and Turning Point Drug and Alcohol Centre study.
The study, which used Victorian hospital, ambulance and police data to measure alcohol-related harm on public holidays and events between 2000 and 2009, found harm often peaked on the day before a public holiday. But Australia Day was the exception, second only to New Year's Day for assaults across all age groups.
In the lead-up to public holidays, New Year's Eve was the worst for acute intoxication and assaults and Easter riskiest for car accidents.
Lead author Belinda Lloyd, of Turning Point, said the summer months and Fridays and Saturdays were peak times for alcohol-related harm in Melbourne, but researchers had accounted for those factors.
VicHealth alcohol program manager Brian Vandenberg said it would be easy to draw the conclusion that the combination of a public holiday, nice weather and the opportunity for people to get together with friends or family provided the ingredients for drinking too much.
''That explains part of this story, but on a deeper level it reflects the problem we have with the cheap price of alcohol, the availability of it, and the promotion of drinking in Australian culture,'' he said.
Mr Vandenberg said that alcohol advertising during major sporting events in the lead-up to Australia Day, including the tennis and cricket, exposed young people to pro-drinking messages, ''reinforcing that the Australian way is to drink, and drink a lot, during summer. This report shows the unfortunate consequences of that culture we have in Australia of drinking excessively to the point where we harm ourselves and others on major occasions.
''It's a bit embarrassing and a bit sad that many Australians spend Australia Day filled with alcohol rather than national pride.
''Others are spending their Australia Day dealing with drunken idiots in hospitals or police lock-ups or drunk drivers on our roads.''
Mr Vandenberg said the results highlighted a need to stop promotions that encouraged people to buy cheap alcohol in bulk.
Liquor laws needed to be revamped to give priority to public health, he said, and adults could help minimise harm on Australia Day in particular by setting a good example of responsible alcohol consumption.
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