Alcohol and Tobacco Control

The Greens (WA) acknowledge that tobacco smoking is the single largest cause of preventable death and disease in Australia and alcohol misuse is second to tobacco as a preventable cause of death and hospitalisation. Alcohol also plays a significant role in a wide range of social problems including road crashes, crime and violence, and is a major driver of police activity.

Goals

The Greens (WA) want:

• a national whole of government approach to prevention and early intervention
• a combination of universal and targeted tobacco control strategies
• comprehensive approaches to significantly reduce harmful and hazardous alcohol consumption combining fiscal measures, reducing availability, controls on alcohol promotion, road safety measures  and realistically funded public and community education
• alcohol rehabilitation programs to be covered by Medicare
• mandatory labelling of all alcoholic drinks with research-based health warnings and the number of standard drinks contained
• alcohol products to be subject to the same nutritional labelling/information provision as all other food and beverage products

Initiatives

The Greens (WA) will initiate and support State legislation and actions that: 

Tobacco control

• ban donations from the tobacco industry to all levels of government (see Greens (WA) Open and Honest Government Policy)
• introduce regulatory measures to ensure all people are protected from exposure to tobacco smoke in all public and work environments
• ensure that no children are subjected to passive smoking in cars
• commit substantially more funding to public education programs on tobacco
• Strengthen bans on on advertising and promotion of tobacco products so that the bans are complete and comprehensive, including at point-of-sale

Alcohol

• ban donations from the alcohol industries to all levels of government
• ensure greater restrictions on availability and promotion of alcohol products
• commit substantial resources to public and community education on alcohol
• restrict outdoor advertising of alcohol products, including point-of-sale and billboards
• promote responsible service of alcohol
• continue the testing of blood alcohol concentrations in drivers, with strong penalties for driving over the limit, and urgent introduction of repeat drink driver legislation
• encourage manufacturers to produce lower alcohol beverages
• support local governments to develop public health plans that include alcohol and planning mechanisms that prevent problems associated with alcohol in the community (see Greens (WA) Local Government Policy)
• support community based advocacy groups financially and with infrastructure and access to expertise/ personnel (independent of government) to deliver locally relevant messages
• encourage sporting and other role models to speak publicly on responsible consumption of alcohol
• ensure that adequate treatment resources are applied to alcohol related crime, including treatment in prison, community based corrections and extending services available through the alcohol and drug sector (see Greens (WA) Justice Policy)
• ensure alcohol-related interventions and programs for Aboriginal communities recognise the particular social and structural factors relating to alcohol misuse (see Greens (WA) ATSI Policy)
• increase suitable training for health professionals to increase their understanding of social and cultural determinants of Indigenous health
• engage with Aboriginal communities wanting to address alcohol problems in their communities on initiatives such as:

- levy on cheap take-away alcohol and encouragement, by pricing, the sale of low alcohol beers;
- take-away free days;
- reducing the number of take-away outlets; and
- increased funding and support for rehabilitation.

The Greens (WA) will support and advocate for Federal legislation and actions that:

• ensure regular and substantial increases to the taxation on tobacco products and include guarantees of a specific percentage of this tax to be used to fund specific tobacco control and health promotion activities
• prohibit the importation and sale of any new tobacco or tobacco substitute products, other than therapeutic goods
• increase excises and other taxes on alcohol in proportion to the alcohol content of beverages, with resulting revenue to fund alcohol-related primary health care and health promotion programs