Alcohol may have contributed to the drownings of 500 men over past decade, study finds

A campaign aims to change men’s attitudes towards drinking after a study links alcohol to the drownings of almost 500 Australian men over past decade.

The research by Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) found almost 2,000 men died in water-related accidents in Australia between 2006 and 2016.

RLSS spokesman Craig Roberts said about a quarter of the drowning victims were found to have alcohol in their system.

“What we do know about the research is of those males who were drinking around waterways and have drowned as a result, 66 per cent of them would have failed a drink driving test,” Mr Roberts said.

“That’s a large number of people who are over that drink driving limit and there is a larger number of people who are severely intoxicated as well.”

Men are ignoring messages about the need to look out for each other to prevent more lives being lost, according to the RLSS.

Source: Alcohol may have contributed to the drownings of 500 men over past decade, study finds – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)