Pub 'shout' binge-drinking should go, says watchdog

An alcohol watchdog wants time called on the Australian pub "shout" after new research showed binge-drinking is considered the norm.

Almost half of 500 survey respondents believed getting drunk was an acceptable part of the Australian way of life.

The Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation called on the Government to help change long-term cultural habits.

"I think 'shouting' is one of our major problems," said foundation chief executive Daryl Smeaton.

"If you get in a shout of more than five people, you're going to be drinking over the safe levels. That's something we really need to start thinking about."

The foundation said Australians now drink less per head than they used to, but the greater acceptance of binge-drinking was relatively new.

"It's not about saying 'Don't drink'. It's about saying to people, 'Look at what happens when you drink the way you do'," Mr Smeaton said.

"It's about starting to think about how you might change those habits while still enjoying a drink."

The survey, by Quantum Market Research, found one in three Australians believed binge-drinking was okay as long as it was not done all the time.

One-third of respondents said it was okay to drink to excess at home or at celebrations, one in five felt you should not tell another person how much is too much alcohol.

A conference tasked with changing drinkers' behaviour starts in Melbourne on Monday.

Mr Smeaton's comments mirror a new philosophy developed by New Zealand's Alcohol Advisory Council.

Chief executive Mike MacAvoy and his deputy, Paula Snowden, will outline the organisation's new "Culture Change" programme at the conference.

- NZPA