FARE and Drug and Alcohol Review are pleased to invite you to a forum:

Out of sight, out of mind: Australia alcohol guidelines

The journal Drug and Alcohol Review is focusing its March edition on the National Health and Medical Research Council Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol (the Guidelines). To coincide with the release, FARE, the Drug and Alcohol Review, and the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR) will host a special forum to explore the role of the Guidelines in reducing risky drinking in Australia. The forum will explore:

• the role of the Guidelines in promoting messages around alcohol consumption
• the work being done to promote the Guidelines at a national and local level
• the role of the Guidelines in increasing awareness of the harms associated with risky drinking among the general public

The Forum will present new research on the awareness of the Guidelines by Australians, and the ability of the Guidelines to influence perceptions. The forum will involve representatives from the Department of Health and Ageing, the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, and a range of public health organisations including:

• Professor Robin Room, Editor-in-Chief of Drug and Alcohol Review and Director of CAPR
• Dr Lisa Studdert, Australian National Preventive Health Agency
• Mr Michael Livingston, CAPR
• Winthrop Research Professor Carol Bower, Senior Principal Research Fellow, Telethon Institute for Child Health Research
• Mr Scott Wilson, Director, Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council, South Australia

The morning will finish with a panel discussion to critically examine the value of the Guidelines in communicating information about alcohol to the general public, and what these messages should be.

Event details:

Date: Tuesday 6 March 2012
Time: 9am for 9.30am -12pm
Venue: Alan Gilbert Executive Lounge, Alan Gilbert Building
Building 104, Grattan St, University of Melbourne, Carlton 3053
RSVP: please RSVP to glenis.thomas@fare.org.au by 29 February 2012
Morning tea will be provided, please contact us with any dietary requirements.

Twitter:

FARE staff will be regularly checking and updating Twitter throughout the day. By using the hashtag #AlcGuidelines, you can make comments, give feedback, or ask questions of the speakers.

All coverage will be sent out via the @FAREAustralia account, and will include the #AlcGuidelines hashtag.