In recent years, VicHealth has explored what we actually mean when we talk about alcohol culture and noted the need for the term to be defined for public health purposes, rather than being captured by other interests.

 

In collaboration with our key partners in alcohol harm prevention, VicHealth has developed a shared understanding of alcohol culture, which defines it as the way a group of people drink, including their shared understandings of formal rules, social norms, practices, values and beliefs around what is and what is not socially acceptable when they get together.

This understanding of alcohol culture will guide efforts to build evidence-based strategies for alcohol harm reduction through influencing culture, an approach we call Alcohol Culture Change.

Alcohol Culture Change recognises that shifting the social norms which support risky drinking is key to changing the drinking culture in Australia. It complements other actions including whole-of-population approaches (e.g. through policy and regulation) and targeted activity that works closely with groups of people (e.g. settings-based approaches) or individuals (e.g. individual behaviour change approaches).

The Alcohol Cultures Framework is a planning tool for those with an interest in changing risky drinking cultures to reduce harm from alcohol products. This Framework has been used to guide VicHealth’s investments in Alcohol Culture Changes.

VicHealth has also developed a guide to supports health promotion practitioners, local government policy makers and community organisations to use the Alcohol Cultures Framework and take action on risky drinking cultures. The guide has been developed in consultation with key stakeholders involved in delivering and evaluating alcohol culture change projects as part of the VicHealth Alcohol Culture Change Initiative 2016–2019.

Download: Alcohol Cultures Guide: taking action on risky drinking cultures (PDF, 4 MB)

 

Current Alcohol Culture Change Projects

https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/funding/mens-risky-drinking-grants

 

Previous Alcohol Culture Change Projects

Alcohol Culture Change Initiative 2016 – 2019 lhttps://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/programs-and-projects/alcohol-culture-change-initiative

Alcohol Culture Change Project 2013-2015 https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/programs-and-projects/alcohol-cultural-change-project

 

Alcohol Culture Change research

Exploring men’s risking drinking https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/mens-drinking-report

Exploring the drinking of middle aged and older Victorians https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/sports-bars-construction-industry-and-rural-and-remote-drinking-cultures

A snapshot of Victoria’s Alcohol Culture https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/a-snapshot-of-victorias-alcohol-culture