SINCE 2008, A fundraising and awareness initiative called ‘Ocsober’ has been running in Australia.

Basically, people agree to give up alcohol for the month of October – hence the name – and get sponsorship for it. All the money goes to a charity that helps educate children about their health and, in particular, the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.

Last year, it raised  $860,000 for Life Education Australia, the charity that teaches children to find their own will power and make safer and healthier choices about their alcohol and drug use.

This year they are aiming to make $1 million.

A recent poll in Australia found that 75% of Australians believe the country has a problem with excessive drinking and 78% think alcohol-related problems are going to get worse or stay the same for the next five to ten years.

The Ocsober initiative has really taken off in the last number of years and this year, well known (in Australia) rocker Angry Anderson is one of the celebrity ambassadors for it.

He told the Daily Telegraph that he himself used to consume anything from six to twelve cans of beer a day and a bottle of spirits in the lead up to the birth of his daughter Roxanne in 1983.

“When Roxanne was born I was arguably at my worst, and for the years leading up to that,” he said. After her birth, he checked himself into rehab, explaining that he didn’t want his daughter to “grow up with a drunk as a father”.

Former Australian footballer Russell Robertson has also jumped on the bandwagon:

Even the Australian navy are in on it:

In case you’re wondering, the giraffe is Healthy Harold, Ocsober’s mascot.

The money raised last year appears to have gone to good use, if testimonials on the Ocsober website are anything to go by.

• In Queensland, the charity was able to increase the delivery of its programme from 108,000 children to 125,000. 
• In South Wales, it enabled them to see an extra 25,000 children.
• In Victoria they reached 5,000 extra primary students in the first term of 2014.
• They have also been able to further subsidise costs of the programme.

In principle, it all sounds good, and Australia’s drinking culture has often been compared to Ireland’s, so it begs the question: Would it work here?

CEO of charity Alcohol Action Ireland, Suzanne Costello told TheJournal.ie that taking some time out to reflect on drinking habits is a good idea and a month is a good period of time to start with. She said it gives people “enough time to feel and see the wide range of benefits that cutting out alcohol can have for their physical and mental health.”

Though it may not seem like a big deal to take a month off from alcohol, the reality is that for many people in Ireland it would be, as it is tied up in so many aspects of life here. We live in a society that is, in many ways, saturated with alcohol and therefore it can be hard to take a step back from it if it feels like alcohol is being pushed at you from every corner, whether by the people around you or the alcohol industry.

However she pointed out that it is important that people also reflect on how alcohol impacts on their lives during a break from it so that when they return to drinking, they are in a position to make better decisions about alcohol and what is best for them.

She also said that while a dedicated month can provide a focus for people wishing to take a break and help raise overall awareness of the benefits of scaling back, the reality is that any time is a good time to do this.

“You can do it with friends or family members and communities like Hello Sunday Morning are also there for people who wish to tap into a wider network of people looking to change their pattern of drinking and improve their health, wellbeing and quality of life,” she added.

What do you think about Ocsober? Should we have a similar initiative in Ireland?

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