Why we do what we do – our manifesto  

Problem drinking and addiction is a health issue, not a personal failing.  

People who engage in problematic alcohol use are often using booze as a salve for dealing with trauma in its many forms, or for chronic stress, isolation, or mental health issues.  

Alcohol is widely used to celebrate, to commiserate, to bond and to wind down after a hard day. From BBQs, to sport, to parenting, to watching TV; there’s not much we do as a nation without it.   

Yet we condemn and shame people when the product eventually does exactly what it is designed to do – make them dependent on it.  

This stigma often stops people seeking help until they suffer significant personal cost – to themselves and those around them.  

The biggest irony is that we also stigmatise and shame those who don’t drink – whether that’s because they are in recovery or they simply don’t like booze. They are left out and made to feel abnormal too.   

It’s a lose-lose. 

Research shows that alcohol is the only drug where approval of regular use is higher than disapproval, over double.  

It also shows that people experience significant pressure to drink, are excluded or are stereotyped negatively, leading them to avoiding social situations, succumbing to social pressure to drink and/or relapsing.   

Meanwhile we know that the health impacts from alcohol are three times greater than all illicit drugs combined and cost up to $2.6 billion a year in national healthcare costs. 

While the non-health impacts of alcohol sit at $15 billion a year including lost productivity, crime, road traffic incidents, absenteeism, mental health, family and community issues – and that there’s a strong link with domestic violence, assault, suicide and child abuse.   

Still, we’re not trying to convince everyone to give up alcohol. 

We believe that’s a decision for individuals to make for themselves and we know that many people are able to enjoy a tipple without a drama.   

We believe in less judgement, not more.   

What we do want at Untoxicated though, is for people to be able to give up or cut back on the booze, and for that to be a decision that is accepted by those around them.   

Just to be accepted. That’s it. 

It's why Untoxicated was created.   

Because people – regardless of the reason why they are not drinking - need to have somewhere they feel like they belong, to connect with others, and for their choices to feel normal. 

It’s because we want people to make choices that are right for them earlier, by showing what is possible in a life without alcohol (or with less of it), rather than wait ‘til they hit ‘rock bottom’.  

And because we want to give people who want to enact or sustain lifestyle changes the best chance to do so.  

It’s what they, their families, their relationships and their communities deserve.