Don’t Drink And Dive | Scoop News

Risks of mixing alcohol and water activities are in the
summer spotlight for water safety and health promotion
agencies.

Water Safety New Zealand and Alcohol
Healthwatch are sharing a common plea this holiday period
– Don’t drink and dive.

Water
Safety’s Daniel Gerrard says generations of risk-taking
behaviour by men continues to be reflected in national
drowning statistics. Alcohol consumption may be a much more
significant contributor to drowning fatalities and injury
than has been identified in the
past.

“Taking any risk around water can
be dangerous, and when you combine taking risks with alcohol
– it can be fatal. For 365 days a year we want to
encourage Kiwis to make good choices around water – around
public holidays and celebrations like New Year’s Eve the
importance of knowing the risks of alcohol are critically
important.”

Alcohol increases the risk of drowning
and injury by impairing judgement, reducing coordination,
and delaying reaction time.

On public holidays many
people may start drinking alcohol earlier in the day, or
drink in larger quantities says Executive Director of
Alcohol Healthwatch Andrew Galloway. Staying alert to the
dangers of mixing alcohol with activities such as swimming,
boating, or simply relaxing at rivers, beaches, pools, and
lakes is crucial to staying safe.

“Alcohol is a
depressant drug which impacts your brain and central nervous
system’s ability to process what’s going on around you.
Your ability to make a sound judgement when you are driving
a boat, a jet ski, or deciding if it’s safe to jump into a
river are completely impacted by even a small amount of
alcohol.

“Think of getting behind the wheel to drive
a car after consuming alcohol – but even broader. Most
water-based activities don’t involve the additional risk
of an engine – it’s the people swimming at night,
swimming alone, or taking that extra risk to show off to the
group of mates. Everyone can benefit from cutting down
drinking, this is another good reason to limit drinking to
be safe in and around the water.“

Daniel Gerrard
says people overestimating their ability in the water is
already a significant driver of drowning risk. Adding
alcohol in the mix exacerbates the decision-making
risk.

“The scale of how much alcohol contributes to
drowning incidents In New Zealand is something yet to be
fully understood. But we do know many drownings come down to
a split-second bad decision.

“A concerning trend
year on year is people who enter the water without intending
to – people falling into the sea on their way home from
the pub or walking too close to the water’s
edge.

“Making conclusions on alcohol-related
drowning is a complex challenge, in part through the nature
of formal inquiries and evidence gathering. What may not be
so complex is calling time on our attitudes and behaviours
around alcohol and water.”

• Every year we lose an
average of 83 New Zealanders to drowning. More than 82 per
cent of the people drowning in New Zealand are
men.

• The average blood alcohol concentration of
males who drowned over the past ten years with a positive
reading of alcohol in their system is almost three times the
legal driving limit. In 2021, the highest blood alcohol
concentration recorded was 6.6 times the legal driving blood
alcohol limit at 331mg/100ml.

• Research has found
that alcohol is involved in between 30-40% of drowning
deaths – but the real number may be higher, as alcohol
involvement isn’t routinely reported on in coronial
examinations.

• International evidence shows that
alcohol-related drownings are more likely to occur among
males than females, and on public holidays than any other
time of the year. 

• Recent research from Water
Safety NZ found that alcohol-related drowning among males
occur differently in different contexts, with key findings
including that: 

o The most common activity
involving alcohol resulting in drowning was accidental
immersion (62%) and swimming.

o Males aged 15-24 years
old were the most impacted by alcohol-involved
drownings.

o It was more common for freshwater
drownings, rather than saltwater drownings, to involve
alcohol.

o In cases involving alcohol and boating,
alcohol-related drowning victims were less likely to be
wearing a lifejacket, but more likely to have lifejackets
available.

Learn more:
watersafetynz.org/staying-safe-avoid-alcohol-around-water

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