Pacific Island Profiles

Participants at the Noumea and Auckland meetings shared information about alcohol and alcohol policies.

In general, Pacific communities have lower proportions of drinkers than most Western countries but the rates are increasing. Drinking rates and average consumption rates per adult tell us little about patterns of drinking. Pacific people who do drink tend to drink until intoxicated. A study of future public health costs in Tonga, Vanuatu and Kiribati projects that:

the costs related to tobacco and alcohol use alone will increase from approximately 9 per cent of the non-communicable diseases treatment budget to 21 per cent by the year 2020. These financial burdens (which do not include any hospital outpatient or social costs to the community e.g. time off work, etc.) will have major impacts on the national economies of these countries.¹

Fiji Comprises over 300 islands.(Pop. 836,000)
Dr Odille Chang, St Giles Hospital, Suva informed the Noumea meeting that:
Alcohol is readily available and accessible. It is an accepted part of the culture and binge drinking is common. Fiji’s average consumption per head of population between 1994 and 2003 was 22.79 litres for beer and 0.72 litres for spirits.

A survey in 1999 showed that drinking was more common among males – 26 per cent of men were drinkers compared with 9 per cent of women - and men’s drinking increased with age. Asked if they had ever been drunk, 21 per cent of men in the survey said yes, as did 6 per cent of women, 15 per cent of Fijians, 11 per cent of Indians and this was most common among the older students. Sixty-nine per cent of the male drinkers, 54 per cent of females, 74 per cent of Fijians, and 58 per cent of Fijians reported binge drinking, and this also increased with age. Nearly half of all male drinkers and a third of females had started drinking at less than 10 years of age.

In 2003, 21 per cent of all road traffic fatalities and 11 per cent nonhospitalised casualties were alcoholrelated. Injuries were up 51 per cent from 2002. Most occur on Saturdays and Sundays at peak times of 3pm-8pm and 9pm-12pm.

Fiji is an alcohol producing country. In 2003 it exported 661,000 litres ($1.8m) of liqueurs and spirits, particularly rum ($1.5m), beer ($0.166m) and wines ($0.11m). It imported even more alcohol: liqueurs, spirits ($5.2m); beer ($0.558m), 1.8m L ($12m) and wines ($5.9m). Customs tariffs are charged at rates of $1.55 to $68.66 per litre, or 27 per cent of total value depending on the type of beverage and its alcohol content.

The Liquor Act 1975 regulates the sale and consumption of alcohol. The Act was reviewed in 2002-2003 and a Bill is currently being prepared. There is currently no national policy on alcohol.

Tonga (Pop. 98,300)
Dr Viliami Puloka, Head of Promotion & Non-Communicable Diseases told the Noumea meeting:
Until 1989 there was a general prohibition on alcohol consumption, with some specific allowances. Now this has been lifted and there are limited restrictions. Currently, 21.3 per cent of Tongans are drinkers. Thirteen per cent report having been drunk at least once. There is no data available to show trends, but anecdotal evidence indicates a steep rise in consumption since 1989. Some local church-based programmes address alcohol issues, and there is some financial support from the Pacific Action for Health Programme.

Alcohol and tobacco were responsible for 10.4 per cent of the non-communicable disease hospital admissions and 19.6 per cent of all hospital expenditures in 2002. Tonga’s Non-Communicable Disease National Strategy has alcohol as a key focus area. An interagency alcohol sub-committee has been formed. Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki, reporting to the Auckland meeting stated that there are no policies or laws to regulate alcohol advertising in Tonga. Alcohol is advertised on television, radio and the newspaper in Tonga. There are occasional posters and also alcohol signage around the rugby field. Around 80 per cent of young people on Tongatapu would be exposed to these media, although exposure would be lower on the outer islands.

Tonga’s small brewery, the Royal Beer Company, is part-owned by the royal family, but Carlsberg also has a 49 per cent share. Its beer brand names are Royal and Ikale (‘sea eagle’).

Samoa (Pop. 170,000)
Viliamu Emanuele, Sautiamai Catholic Family Ministry and Tautala Mauala, Samoa Red Cross Society reported to the Auckland meeting:
Government policy has been to encourage economic development and increase employment opportunities by creating a positive environment for local and foreign investment. The Samoan beer industry is subject to government policies, including price regulation, but there is no regulation for imported alcohol products, including wine and spirits other than tariffs which are being reduced under World Trade agreements. Some Samoan businesses engage in manufacturing and importing spirits. Several supermarkets import and sell wines.

The manufacture and sale of all alcohol beverages containing 2 per cent pure alcohol or more is controlled by the Liquor Act 1971, amended in 1997. Alcohol may be sold to any person aged 21 or over, unless they are subject to a prohibition order. It is an offence for any person under 21 years to drink alcohol or have alcohol in their possession in any hotel, club, resort or public place. Hotels, bars and clubs must obtain a licence from the Liquor Board. Alcohol may not be sold on Sundays or ‘as the Licence Board directs from time to time’, and bars and nightclubs close at midnight.

The Liquor Act explicitly states that alcohol advertising must not target young people, and all media advertising must comply with government regulations to avoid offensive or problematic advertising. However, over 40 per cent the population is aged 5-19 and is exposed to alcohol advertising. Alcohol is often marketed through ‘incidental’ promotion in other advertising – by showing wine bottles and people drinking cocktails in advertisements for hotels and restaurants. Billboard advertising for alcohol have been erected around the islands.

Young people are targeted with advertising for Coca-Cola and it is well-known in Samoa that Coca-Cola and Valima beer are Samoa Breweries’ two main products. So Coca-Cola advertising and sponsorship can be interpreted as an indirect and long term approach to growing the future local alcohol market. Through the Coco-Cola brand, Samoa Breweries’ sponsors youth development activities, school sports and other events. It provides sponsorship, prizes and drink discounts for the primary schools netball tournament and the Champ of Champs schools competition.

Samoa Breweries provides alcohol sponsorship for adult sports events, including logos on sports clothing. Valima beer sponsors Samoan rugby, particularly the NPC Valima Cup, and club rugby such as the Marist Sevens and Motua Tens. This includes hosting fund-raising events and providing alcohol products for match events. It has also sponsored cultural events such as the Teuila Festival and for Miss Teuila 2004

Niue (Pop. 1,600)
Minemaligi Asu Hetutu Pulu, Public Health Departmentreported to the Noumea meeting:
The current prevalence of drinking is estimated to be around 20 per cent among both males and females aged 16-20 and 30 per cent for those aged 21-30.

Among people aged 31 to 50 it is 30 per cent for women and 50 per cent for men. Among those aged over 50, around 20 per cent of men and 10 per cent of women are drinkers. Weekly drinking and binge drinking are very common.

Nuie currently has no national policy on alcohol. However, the Liquor Act 1975 prohibits the sale of alcohol to people under 18 years of age. A licence is needed to sell alcohol. A Liquor Board oversees licensing, sales, opening and closing hours and consumption issues.

Ben Tanaki, Niue Association of NGOs, reported to the Auckland meeting
The government is the sole importer of alcohol. Take-away alcohol is sold from the government’s Bond Store. The Act provides for licensing to manufacture alcohol, as an import substitution policy, but this has not happened since a local venture producing Fiafia (‘happy’) lager ceased operation in the early 1990s.

Broadcast advertising of alcohol has been restricted by the Broadcasting Corporation of Niue.

Forms of alcohol sponsorship do exist, however, in that a governmentbeer tax of NZ$1 per can goes to a special fund earmarked for local sport organisations or activities. The Treasury also distributes at its discretion promotional materials received from New Zealand breweries – posters, free beer and other products such as sports equipment carrying brand names and logos.

Another example of sponsorship is by the Nuku Club, licensed to sell alcohol on and off the premises, which sponsors the annual local outrigger canoe race on the day of the Constitutional Celebration. This competition is a national event, with prizes (mainly cash) primarily sponsored by the Nuku Club. There is a significant presence and attendance of young peoples during the event.

In August 2004, the Liquor Board was seeking the view of the public on whether alcohol should be sold in the country’s supermarket and in other small retail shops in town as well as in the villages. Niue is not immune to the constant pressures of economic changes and development which, if we are not very careful, could inflict unnecessary and undesirable social consequences.

Kiribati (Pop. 98,549)
Teurakai Ukenio, Ministry of Internal & Social Affairsinformed the Nounea meeting:
In Kiribati, the only alcohol produced locally is a sour palm toddy called kaokioki. All beer and other alcohol is imported from Australia. Two out of seven importers of alcohol to Kiribati are government owned, Abamakoro and BKL, and these import over 60 per cent of the available beer. There is an informal agreement that beer should only be imported in aluminium cans, but there appears to be increasing imports of glass stubbies. A recent assessment of quantities of alcohol imported in 2002 compared with the 2001 and 2000 years shows a 24.5 per cent increase for beer, increases of 77.6 per cent and 73.8 per cent respectively for spirits and ready-todrink spirits, with wine dropping by 46 per cent. The 2002 data provides a per capita intake of 2.92 litres per head of population aged 20 and over. This does not include local toddy.

Recently, some concerns about alcohol sales have been raised – minors being sent to buy alcohol for a parent, underage drinkers being able to buy alcohol with showing an ID, and minors going into nightclubs, which are open until 2 am The police have recently been visiting venues popular with young people to curb underage drinking, with a significant number of arrests and closures of sour toddy outlets. Some schools have recent petitioned for nearby outlets to be closed during daylight hours. Amendments to the current Liquor Ordinance are expected in early 2005. Police officers have been trained on breathalyser use through a Pacific Police Project, but the required regulations under the new Road Traffic Act have not yet been finalised.

Recent assessments at Bikenibu and Betio hospitals indicate that 5-25 per cent of those seeking treatment out of hours are affected by alcohol. Data on alcohol related orders such as liver disease is poor because of difficulty distinguishing this from Hepatitis B which is endemic in Kiribati. Imported films and DVDs are a main source of entertainment, but these do not have alcohol advertisements. However, we strongly believe that the effect of watching people smoking, drinking and abusing drugs in the movies provides our young people with temptation to adopt such behaviours and attitudes.

A framework for alcohol policy has been set out proposing changes in taxation and liquor availability. A Government action plan for youth sets out an integrated approach to reduce harm done by youth drinking, counselling services and increasing taxation on imported alcohol beverages by 10 per cent to fund prevention and counselling services and to establish a national youth coordinating body.

Cook Islands (Pop. 14,000)
Tuaine Teokotai, Chief Health Inspector, Department of Public Health
The Cook Islands government is committed to addressing alcohol issues, including advertising. The current focus is the promotion of moderation and reducing alcohol related problems. Average annual alcohol consumption in 2000 was 4.8 litres per person, but there is very little information on current patterns of drinking. A survey back in 1993 found that 91.3 per cent of male drinkers and 85 per cent of female drinkers had start drinking at 16 years of age.

In 1991-1992, a Sale of Liquor Act established a Liquor Licensing Board, and policy development and legislation are of the Ministry of Health’s current work programme. However, no specific resources are allocated for alcohol control. Alcohol health promotion is funded from the budget allocation for health and for health education. Educational materials in Cook Islands Maori and English are distributed, and the Ministry has identified training and production needs in the area of information and communication.

In 1998 the Cook Islands Healthy Island committee established a subcommittee to review the sale of liquor. It recommended:

a liquor licensing fee that would help fund an alcohol education programme
making public venues and events alcohol-free
banning all forms of advertising and sports sponsorship by alcohol companies
imposing a tax on alcohol, with revenue going towards health promotion and treatment.

The Ministry is working with all interested parties on initiatives to inform the public about the impacts of alcohol and to develop a National Alcohol Strategy. The goal is to reduce alcohol related problems, focusing on the following areas in particular:

Alcohol and young people
Road crashes and accidents
Alcohol and sports
Drinking environments
Alcohol related violence.

‘If you drink and drive, you’re a bloody idiot’: the message against drink-driving on a festival float, Rarotonga.

Papua New Guinea (Pop. 5,695,300)
Kaii Len Dagam, Director of Public Health
Consumption of alcohol, including that of teenagers, is causing enormous social problems in the area of accidents, crime and domestic violence. No consumption figures are available, but it is known to be high, with high levels of binge drinking. Teenage drinking is increasing, with boys as young as 12 already drinking. A recent survey found that 26 per cent of 13-18 year olds drank alcohol regularly. It is mainly males who drink, mainly those living in the towns.

Far fewer women drink but the proportion is increasing. Binge drinking occurs mainly during the weekend, but also during the week and at parties. Fifty per cent of hospital admissions are related to trauma, and alcohol is thought to be implicated in 96 per cent of cases. Upper respiratory tract cancers are very common.

Alcohol was banned until 1962, when the legislation was repealed and an Alcohol Consumer Commission was set up. Papua New Guinea is now an alcohol producing country – the South Pacific Brewery is based there – and there are also alcohol imports from Australia and South East Asia. Traditionally produced alcohol is homebrew, and kava is also drunk.

Liquor licensing laws cover requirements for the sale of alcohol, restricted operating hours, and a minimum age for selling, buying and consuming alcohol. There is no clear, co-ordinated national alcohol plan, and no Public Health Act that deals with alcohol or tobacco. The National Health Plan 2001 to 2010 focuses on health education, health promotion and community involvement.

Solomon Islands (Pop. 460,100)
Albby Lovi, Director of Health Promotion Services
Data from 1994 provides an average alcohol consumption figure of 0.7 litres of pure alcohol per adult (aged 15+). This low level partly reflects the concentration of alcohol outlets in Honiara and the other provincial centres and the fact that 90 per cent of Solomon Islanders live in rural villages and have limited involvement in the cash economy.

In the towns, alcohol is sold widely and 60 per cent of young people drink – mostly males. A 1992 study found that 54 per cent of reported criminal offences in the Solomon Islands were alcohol-related. Alcohol-related road traffic accidents have been increasing and drink-driving legislation has been enacted.

Traditionally, home brew and palm toddy have been produced, and kaleve is also consumed. By 1994, locally manufactured beer accounted for some 80 per cent of pure alcohol consumed. Around 17 per cent was imported beer and 3 per cent was imported spirits. There is a 15 per cent import tax on alcohol products, and 10 per cent general sales tax is payable on alcohol products made in the Solomons. The Solomon Brewery Company now produces 2.7 million litres of beer annually.

There is currently no government policy on alcohol control and harm prevention. Community alcohol awareness programmes that take place are usually church-based. A non-communicable diseases unit was established two years ago and there are plans to strengthen this unit. In 2005, the Ministry of Health plans to launch a Community Awareness on Alcohol project and to improve data collection on alcohol consumption, alcoholrelated disease and social problems.

Federated States of Micronesia
Kerio Walliby, Chief of Section for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Department of Health, Education and Social Affairs informed the Noumea meeting that:
The Federated States of Micronesia consists of 4 states, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Yap and Kosrae. The total population is 107,008, according to the 2000 census. Alcohol was clearly a Western contribution to Micronesia by the European and American contactwith the islands in the mid nineteenth century. 2.6 per cent of boys and less than 1 per cent of girls drink in the age group 10 to 14; this grows to 32.4 and 5.5 among 15 to 19 year olds; among young adults 63 per cent of males and 8.1 of females in the age group 20 to 29 drink, rising to 69.5 and 14 .6 respectively for those between 30 and 34 years.

The low female rates of alcohol use are indicative of the strong cultural prohibition on female drinking that persists even today. The proportion of drinkers decrease in those aged over 45 years.

90 per cent of all arrests of young people under the age of 18 were for “illegal possession and consumption of alcohol; disturbing the peace, assault and battery, burglary and larceny to get alcohol or money to purchase alcoholic beverages”. This trend appears to continue until the late twenties and early thirties in most Micronesian Societies.

The Federated States of Micronesia does not have any jurisdiction to regulate alcohol laws except to impose import tax. The National Government has a current policy of 6 per cent import tax on alcohol and each state has its own implementation of sales tax (excise tax).

In Pohnpei State, any business which offers for distribution, wholesale sale, retail sale, use or consumption of alcoholic beverages and /or any tobacco products are prohibited from advertising these products in any way:

The National Plan of Action has the following three objectives:

To build regional capacity and infrastructure at the state and community level by strengthening the capacity to train prevention specialists, school faculty, and staff and to make this training available
regionally, nationally and internationally. Currently substance abuse prevention functions are under-staffed, under-funded and under utilised.
To prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance abuse including childhood and underage drinking by using an effective model prevention program that will be implemented to improve behaviour.
To reduce substance abuse-related problems in communities by developing capacity of regional agencies to establish effective community substance abuse prevention systems.

French Polynesia
Dr Marie-Francoise Bruginoux, Alcohol and Drug Consultant, Ministry of Health reported:
Alcohol consumption in 1968 was 10.4 litres per capita declining to 6.6 in 1968, rising to 8.2 in 1993 and has been just under 7 litres since 2000.

Surveys of students have shown that among 14 to 15 year olds 30 per cent have experienced bouts of drunkenness;64 per cent of 16 to 17 year olds and 70 per cent among 18 to 19 year olds. 6 and 11 per cent of Children 10 to 11 and 12 to 13 years respectively have also experienced bouts of drunkenness.

Alcohol has been one of the main causes of road accidents -1 in 3 cases of physical injury and 1 in 2 fatal accidents. In 2003, the official statistics recorded 328 accidents, with 439 people injured and 38 fatalities. These figures are underestimated. The 2001-2003 figures were 153 killed, 536 seriously injured and 849 slightly injured.

Responses to the alcohol problem has been action on alcohol consumption in public places (1959); ban on sales of alcohol to minors since1959 with penalties made more severe in 1999; lowering of legal blood alcohol limit to 0.5g/l in 2001; direct and indirect advertising for alcoholic beverages banned in sports venues and at sports meetings in 2003 and limitations on advertising of alcoholic beverages but no ban.

Taxes on alcoholic beverages to fund prevention activities; establishment of a State/Territory committee on prevention of drug addiction to coordinate prevention work and the launching of an annual territorial alcohol-free day.

Guam
Peter Roberto, Director of the Department of Mental Health:
Data from 2003 indicate that 5.7 per cent of adults are at risk of heavy drinking and that 18.7 per cent of adults are binge drinkers. Both heavy drinking and binge drinking are more prevalent among males. Heavy drinking is more common among younger adults (18-24), those with lower incomes and lower educational attainment. Binge drinking appears to be more common among young and middle aged adults, and those with midlevel incomes.

Underage drinking is prevalent. Among youth, the 2003 youth survey reports that 71.3 per cent of High School students have had at least one drink of alcohol, with 8.5 per cent of all High School students having had their first drink at 8 years old or younger.

Over 17 per cent of high school students state that they have gone binge drinking, 10 per cent have driven a car after drinking alcohol and 37.6 per cent have ridden in a vehicle in the past month driven by someone who had consumed alcohol. Guam Police Department statistics reveal that in the year 2000 over half of fatal motor vehicle crashes were alcohol and drugrelated.

Current policies include a legal drinking age of 18, a 0.08 Blood Alcohol Concentration limit and mandatory assessment and treatment of driving under the influence offenders. Taxes on alcoholic beverages not manufactured on Guam were increased as of May 2003, with 50 per cent of tax revenues going to the “Safe Homes, Safe Streets Fund” established to address the prevention of underage drinking, the promotion of traffic safety and the enhancement of alcohol and drug treatment programs. There are no advertising restrictions for alcohol.

Recent developments that may augment alcohol control efforts include the creation of the Governor’s PEACE Council for substance abuse prevention, and the strong likelihood that the a five year multi-million dollar grant for substance abuse prevention and early intervention will be awarded, with a focus on the reduction of underage drinking.

A special ballot raising the alcohol drinking age to 21 years, introduced during the November 2002 elections on Guam, did not receive a majority vote.

Other current challenges include poor enforcement of laws, heavy advertising of alcoholic beverages in all media, cultural acceptability of alcohol use and the availability of alcoholic beverages, such as during events at the University of Guam Fieldhouse.

An area of concern are the proposals to give tax credits against tobacco and alcohol taxes for corporations that donate money for various purposes such as building a sports complex, funding the Guam Memorial Hospital, and maintaining the Paseo.

No island-wide alcohol prevention plan of action exists.

New Caledonia
Dr Bernard Rouchon, Medical Director of Health Prevention Department of Health
Over the past 10 years there has been a steep rise in alcohol consumption reaching 9.8 litres per capita in 2002.

Of those who drink alcohol, it is estimated that 40 per cent are occasional drinkers, 22 per cent light drinkers, 15 per cent heavy drinkers and 21 per cent weekend binge drinkers.

The 2002-2004 programme has the overall objective of reducing the health and social consequences arising from alcohol. There are three specific objectives:

Influence attitudes, representations and choices in order to find individual and collective responses to the events of life other than through alcohol.
Educate users and develop a sense of collective awareness of risky and harmful consumption patterns in order to reduce the prevalence of heavy drinkers.
Optimise and strengthen care systems for accessible, rational, diversified and graduated care to combat harmful alcohol use and alcohol-dependence.

Development of research and evaluation of care and prevention
The ‘Alcohol Risk Prevention Unit’ is responsible for overall programme coordination, in particular the setting up of a prevention and care system, training partners and evaluation. The ‘Alcohol Abuse Prevention Association’ (APAA) plays a primary prevention role. The ‘Alcohol Therapy Centre’ (CATA) offers care. The rest of the system is integrated into New Caledonia’s health and social facilities.

Palau
Dr Sylvia Andres, Chief of the Division of Behavioural Health, Ministry of Health
A 1997 survey of 802 men and women found a lifetime prevalence rate of 46.8 per cent. Problem drinkers were 17.8 per cent of the entire sample.

The youth risk behavioural survey found in 1997 that 29.5 per cent of students had drunk five or more drinks in a row on one or more of the past 30 days. The proportion was 31.5 per cent in 1999 and 30.4 per cent in 2001.

There is a law that restricts vending machines for alcohol. The import tax on alcohol was increased in 1997 and decreased by 50 per cent in 2002. There is a law that extended curfew hours to 4am including the sale of alcohol.

Of Palau’s’ total budget, about 16 per cent comes annually from the local budget. There is Federal Funding from SAMHSA.

Republic of the Marshall Islands
Gerard Mejborn,Coordinator of Human Services, Ministry of Health.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands consists of 1,225 atolls scattered over 750 square miles of ocean. Of these atolls, there are five single islands and 29 groups of coralatolls. The population is approximately 53,000.

Majuro Atoll, which is also the capital city, and Ebeye, Kwajalein Atoll, which is the second most populated location, are the only places in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in which it is legal to sell or consume alcohol.

The Republic is currently experiencing severe problems relating to the use of alcohol. The problems are mostly concerned with young adults, around the ages of seventeen to thirty years of age

The Law Enforcement authorities such as the National Police Force and the Local Government police are constantly called upon to intervene in mostly domestic problems related to high alcohol consumption. Police estimate that up to 70 per cent of the arrests for criminal behaviours involve alcohol as a major contributing factor, and these include theft, sexual-violence, assault, auto-incidence and improper conduct in public areas.

The Islands have one of the highest rates of suicide in the world, mostly amongst young people. The problem of suicide parallels the alcohol consumption in two ways. It is predominantly a male related problem and it is estimated that 93 per cent of the individuals who attempt suicide have alcohol as a major contributing factor. The mood depressant effect of alcohol is a major contributor to the loss of life through suicidal behaviour.

While resources are scarce, there are a few agencies and institutions (religious, educational, etc) that are addressing the problems of alcohol, tobacco, and other illegal drug addiction and related behaviours.

Tokelau
Dr Petelo Alapati Tavite, Public Health Policy Adviser, Department of Health
Tokelau has been a territory of New Zealand since 1948 and is located 480 km north of Samoa and comprises three low lying atolls of 12sqkm size with 127 islets, only four of which are occupied. The atolls are widely separated by sea, with Atafu inhabited by 700 people, Nukunonu by 300 people, and Fakaofo by 500 people.

50/100 cartons of 270ml and 150ml Vailima Samoa beer respectively and 1-4 cartons of spirit are imported fortnightly. There is local production of toddy. 75 per cent of the population consume alcohol. 70 per cent of alcohol consumers are men and 30 per cent are women.

Alcohol policy takes place at the village level. The minimum drinking age is 18 years. Only the village store can order alcohol, and is open two days a week. The limit of sale is 2 x 270ml or 6 x 150ml cans of beer a day for men and 1 x 270ml or 3 x 150ml cans of beer a day for women and 1 bottle of spirits a week. There are no national plans and no budget allocation for alcohol related programs.

Tuvalu
Fanoanoaga Patoro,Chairman, Tuvalo National Alcoholic Drinks Licensing Committee.
Tuvalu comprises nine Coral islands with a land area of 26 sq km spreading over a sea area of 900,000 sq km. About 48 per cent of the total population of 9,500 (2002 Census) resides on the urbanised island of Funafuti

22.2 per cent of the population consume alcohol with 46 per cent of the male population 15 years and over drinking. Alcohol consumption is predominantly prevalent between the ages of 18 and 40 years. Alcohol is mostly imported into the country. The volume of beer has fluctuated over the last 6 years, but there has been an increase in the volume of both imported wine and spirits.

Most alcohol policy issues are covered under the Alcoholic Drinks (1990 Revised Edition) Act, Control and prevention of alcohol programs have largely suffered though a lack of resources. Donor partners (SPC, WHO) have facilitated support and assistance in public health. The government receives $15,000 annually from alcoholic licences, of which only $350 is spent annually on the control and surveillance of alcohol consumption.

The government is planning, through its alcohol licensing committee, to create a national forum to develop a national policy. The forum is part of a project that is to be submitted for donor assistance. The project is called “strengthening alcohol controls and publicising awareness”.

Wallis and Futuna
Geraldine Danigo, Health Agency
Wallis and Futuna has a population of 10,071 people in Wallis and 4873 in Futuna. 50 per cent are aged 0-19 years, 43 per cent 20-59 years and 7 per cent 60 years or older.

The largest section of the population who drink are 20 to 29 year olds – 72 per cent males and 13 per cent females; 30 to 49 year olds follow with 64 per cent and 3 per cent respectively 50 to 59 – 40 and 1 per cent. Young people aged 15 to 19 – 44 and 1 per cent. The most frequent drinkers are the 50 to 59 age group.

Alcohol related harm – accidents, illness and hospitalisation is experienced most by the 20 to 29 age group.

References:

1 Christopher Doran (2003) Economic impact assessment of non-communicable diseases on hospital resources in Tonga, Vanuatu and Kiribati. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales. September.

1 SPC/WHO Meeting On Alcohol and Health in the Pacific, 28th-30thSeptember, 2004, Noumea, New Caledonia, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea, New Caledonia, www.spc.org.nc/health