'Alcohol-related brain injuries 'up''

[Conan Troutman]

Alcohol-related brain injuries 'up'

June 9, 2007 - 9:04AM

The number of young people being treated for alcohol-related brain damage has grown fivefold in 10 years.

The startling figure has prompted calls for urgent action on teenage binge drinking, Fairfax newspapers report.

At Victoria's only treatment agency for alcohol-related brain injuries, the number of patients aged 16 to 25 has increased from 4 per cent in 1997 to 20 per cent this year.

Staff at Arbias, which helps people with acquired brain injury, are treating about 600 young people a year in Melbourne. About 10 years ago, they treated about 120.

And half of the young people have sustained brain damage through chronic binge drinking. Others have had car accidents, falls or assaults caused by heavy alcohol use.

Melbourne East police inspector Chris Duthie said the city had reached saturation point, with 1000 licensed premises.

"We have created a situation where most of the cohort that inhabits the city after 2am are alcohol-affected young people with little respect for society," Insp Duthie said. "Why do we need the concentration of bars and clubs in such a confined area and who says they have the right to operate until 7am and fill people up with grog?"

Last Sunday, Shannon McCormack, 22, of Eltham, died after he was bashed outside the QBH nightclub. His parents have pleaded for Melbourne's late-night "battlegrounds" to be cleaned up.

Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon has told a parliamentary committee street assaults were on the rise in inner city areas.

A federal government spokesman said $25 million was being spent an alcohol campaign to promote safety.

AAP

The Age