In this week’s instalment of citizen journalism, Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia (DSICA) spokesperson, Steven Riden, responds to an opinion piece by John Reid of the Australian Drug Foundation about the trade’s alleged meddling in harm-minimisation strategies.
"In Friday’s edition of TheShout, John Reid showed an incredible ignorance of the efforts of the alcohol industry to reduce alcohol abuse.
DSICA has consistently and publicly supported the Federal Government’s binge drinking strategy, as have other parts of the trade. Mr Reid shouldn’t take snide shots at the spirits industry just because we oppose an ill-considered revenue grab.
His writing combines equal parts condescension and misrepresentation. He believes it is not good enough for ordinary people to make up their own minds and state their opinion on the ill-conceived RTD tax – they have to be a self-declared expert such as himself in order to have a valid opinion.
Unfortunately, many in the public health industry blame our industry for alcohol abuse as a matter of principle, because they refuse to accept the fact that individuals must have any responsibility for their own actions.
But as he is the recipient of government funding, I can understand him writing his opinion piece in support of the Government policy."
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