The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to delivering better health outcomes for all Tasmanians and reducing the damage done by alcohol and drug misuse.
I was pleased today to launch the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Council’s new shared plan which sets the priorities to tackle drug and alcohol misuse and abuse.
The Implementation Plan builds on the ‘Everybody’s Business’ Strategic Framework that recognises the value of implementing promotion, prevention and early intervention approaches to reduce alcohol, tobacco and other drugs use.
It sets out goals and activities that build on work already underway and identifies stakeholders who will work together to implement specific initiatives.
The Drug Education Network will lead implementation, working with government agencies, private and community sector providers to coordinate, monitor and report on the activities in the Plan.
This is a complex issue which will require a whole-of-community approach. We know from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2013 that more than 40 per cent of Australians either smoked daily, drank alcohol in a way that put them at risk or used an illicit drug.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to taking action to respond to the needs of the community in tackling drug and alcohol misuse and abuse. That’s why we’ve announced an investment of $4.8 million over four years to tackle drug misuse in Tasmania.
We are also committed to achieving our vision of a health system that provides access to better care and high quality services through the One State, One Health System, Better Outcomes reform.
We congratulate the ATDC for leading this work in developing a plan to guide promotion, prevention and early intervention initiatives across the sector.