DRINK LESS BUT MORE OFTEN

I'm no big drinker but do enjoy a beer now and then. This afternoon it was miserable outside so I parked in front of the TV to watch some footy (Carlton thumping Collingwood was great) and drank three beers. Now since I don't drink much I lash out by buying a somewhat pricey imported beer (Hoegaarden). And a good thing it is too because Hoegaarden comes in whimpy little 330 ml bottles with those three beers giving me a total consumption of 3.9 standard drinks. But if I had consumed, say, three 375 ml VB stubbies my total consumption at one sitting would have been 4.2 standard drinks making me according to the proposed standard, OH MY GOD!, a binge drinker.

The AMA's national president, Rosanna Capolingua, explains how the new binge drinking scare campaign is actually a good idea:

"The definition of binge drinking is something that perhaps hasn't been brought down to the level of four drinks per night, four standard drinks per night," she said.

"I think many Australians will be reflecting on their habits at home and wonder whether we are binge drinking on a very regular basis."

Dr Capolingua says this could make people think twice about how much they are drinking.

Then again, many people will think the standard a joke and ignore it – those scary government-sponsored grim reaper ads never did convince me AIDS threatened me and look how the whole AIDS thing turned out to be much ado about not much.