Second-hand effects of drinking:
Moving the alcohol policy
agenda forward
Samantha Cukier1, Norman Giesbrecht2,
& Dan Steeves3
1Addiction Services, South Shore, South West & Annapolis Valley Health, NS
2Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, ON
3Addiction Prevention & Treatment Services, Capital Health, NS
CPHA Conference, Toronto, ON June 15, 2010
What is it?
• Second-hand drinking is:
“The damage from alcohol to persons other than
the drinker,” (Giesbrecht et al., in press)
Examples:
– Drinking and driving or boating
– Alcohol-fuelled physical violence
– Alcohol-fuelled family violence (emotional)
– Unplanned sexual behaviour
– Workplace incidents
– Public transportation crashes
Why?
• Why are we talking about alcohol?
– Harms vs. benefits
• Why are we talking about secondhand drinking?
– Why not ‘first-hand’ drinking?
Why alcohol?
• Is alcohol use a public health issue?
Normalization of over-drinking
Normalization of over-drinking
(cont’d)
http://www.jamaicamax.com/jamaica/spring-break-2009-in-negril-jamaica/
http://blogs.cornell.edu/alexcain/2010/03/29/my-spring-break/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/gallery/2009/mar/15/spring-break-party-credit-crunch?picture=344593086
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2009/03/binge_drinking_a_continuing_pr.html
Why second-hand drinking?
• Health effects of ‘first-hand’ drinking
are not influential in stimulating
societal change
• Call to action necessary with relevant
‘hook’ and significant impact
• Effective response necessary:
Implications for policy (like secondhand smoke)
Measuring
Second-Hand Drinking
Harm experienced by respondent in the past year from drinking by
others (%)
Type of disruption or harm
Canada (2004)
Nova Scotia (2008)
Ontario (2006)
N= 13,328
Aged 18 +
N= 1,200
Aged 18+
N= 937
Aged 18+
Insulted or humiliated
22.1
19.3
21.1
Family or marriage problems
10.5
8.8
11.2
Pushed or shoved
10.8
12.0
10.8
Serious arguments or quarrels
15.5
15.0
17.3
Verbal abuse
15.8
14.1
15.0
Hit or physically assaulted
3.2
4.4
3.1
One or more types of harm
32.7
30.4
31.3
(Giesbrecht et al., in press)
Measuring
Second-Hand Drinking (cont’d)
Drinking and Driving
Second-hand effect
Source
52% have at least one friend who has driven after having had too much to drink in
the past year
33% say that “few” of their friends have driven after having too much to drink in the
last year.
15% say “some” of their friends have done this.
4% say “most” of their friends have done this in the past year.
Transport Canada
(2007)
Unplanned Sexual Behaviour
Second-hand effect
Source
8% (474,000 students) reported unprotected intercourse as a result of their alcohol
use
2% (97,000) alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape victims
Hingson et al. (2005)
Social Harms
Second-hand effect
Source
78.8% of non binge-drinking college students report experiencing second-hand
binge drinking effects (i.e., arguments, interrupted sleep or studying, unwanted
sexual advance, etc.).
Wechsler et al. (1998)
Challenges
• Greater understanding and uptake of
second-hand effects
• Measurement of second-hand effects
• Appetite for alcohol use as a public health
issue
• Countering myths about alcohol as a public
heath issue
• Countering myths about alcohol use (killjoy and
cranberry juice?!)
• Increased alcohol marketing and promotion
• Privatization
Moving Forward
• Encourage a public health approach
to alcohol use
• Popularize term ‘second-hand
drinking’
• Start to quantify second-hand effects
of drinking
Contact Information
Samantha Cukier, BSc, MBA, MA
Addiction Services
South Shore, South West & Annapolis Valley District Health Authorities
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
[email protected]
Norman Giesbrecht, PhD
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Toronto, Ontario
[email protected]
Dan Steeves, BEd, D.A.U.S, MAEd (c)
Addiction Prevention and Treatment Services
Capital District Health Authority
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
[email protected]
References
Giesbrecht N., Cukier S., Steeves D. (in press) Collateral damage from
alcohol: Implications of 'second-hand effects of drinking' for
populations and health priorities. Addiction.
Hingson, R., Heeren, T,, Winter, M,, & Wechsler, H, (2005). Magnitude of
alcohol related mortality and morbidity among U.S. college students
ages 18-24: Changes from 1998 to 2001. Annual Review of Public
Health, 26, 259-279.
Wechsler, H., Dowdall, G. W., Maenner, G., Gledhill-Hoyt, J. & Lee, H.
(1998). Changes in binge drinking and related problems among
American college students between 1993 and 1997: Results of the
Harvard school of public health, college alcohol study. Journal of
American College Health, Vol. 47: 57-68.