Boozy Kiwi male image ‘alive’

Press, 24 October 1989, Page 5

Boozy Kiwi male image ‘alive’

PA t’’ Wellington Young diehard traditionalist men are keeping alive the image of the boozy Kiwi male, the Alcoholic Liquor Advisory Council says. An A.L.A.C. health promotion adviser, Mr Peter Burton, made this comment after the release of the most comprehensive report in the last decade on New Zealanders’ drinking habits. “Using a cluster analysis technique, the survey shows that the young male heavy drinkers, who comprise 20 per cent of male

drinkers, consume 36 per cent of the total alcohol consumed by males. “One-in-five of the 1 surveyed males were drinkers who often binged and caused themselves problems when they got together,” Mr Burton said. A healthy trend to emerge in the survey was that in the last 12 months 30 per cent of drinkers had cut down their intake of alcohol. There was no longer an average New Zealand drinker but a divers-

ity, from the young male boozer through to the moderate drinker. “More people are drinking in what is often called the European style,” Mr Burton said. the report was completed by the Auckland University Alcohol Research Unit and comes 10 years after the first national survey of New Zealand drinking habits commissioned by A.L.A.C. While there were some encouraging signs, misuse of alcohol was still a main health concern, Mr Burton said.