Quarter of Hawke's Bay adults 'hazardous drinkers'

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton says a strategy aims to prevent the harm alcohol has on the community.

A quarter of Hawke's Bay adults are classed as "hazardous drinkers" - an issue which accounts for up to 600 hospital admissions, and costs of more than $3 million a year.

The reduction of these statistics is the aim of a joint alcohol strategy - with the draft approved for release for public feedback yesterday by the Napier City Council community services committee.

Written by council senior policy adviser Michelle Grigg, the strategy stated that Hawke's Bay was known as "wine country", "yet amongst this we also have one of the highest hazardous drinking rates in New Zealand".

One in every four people was classed as a hazardous drinker - with these levels not explained by a younger population, or higher population of Maori.

Hazardous drinking means a person is likely to be harming their own health, or causing harm to others through their behaviour.

"Our hazardous drinking levels have remained relatively steady since 2002 and unless we do more than we are currently this is unlikely to change," she wrote.

"We drink at almost twice the national hazardous drinking level and this is showing no sign of change," she stated.

"Levels of drinking in Hawke's Bay are higher than nationally among men and women, Maori and non-Maori, and across almost all age groups."

The report noted rates of hazardous drinking had increased over the past decade. This was particularly for Maori who had higher hazardous drinking rates than other ethnicities.

Those between the ages of 15 and 24 had the highest hazardous drinking levels - with young men drinking at "significantly" higher rates than the national average.

One measure of the issue was in high rates of hospital admissions attributed to alcohol - since 2013 these rates had increased with Maori admission rates now almost twice those of non-Maori.

Between 500 and 600 people are admitted to Hawke's Bay Hospital each year for alcohol-related issues, with the total direct cost for these stays at $3,107,049.

The strategy aims to reduce alcohol-related harm, and involves Napier City Council, Hastings District Council, and Hawke's Bay District Health Board.

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said the strategy was to prevent "as much as possible" the harm that alcohol has on the community.

This was echoed by Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule, who said while alcohol could be seen as part of the Hawke's Bay brand, these statistics went to the underlying problem of substance abuse in the region.

The strategy is reviewed every five years. Its 2017-2022 objectives were to foster safe and responsible drinking environments, to change attitudes towards alcohol to reduce tolerance for alcohol harms, and demonstrate leadership to achieve a safe drinking culture.