As for so many teenage boys, it started as a few drinks with mates.
Eventually, Clinton Broomhall started wagging school and breaking into abandoned buildings just so he could drink alcohol.
He reached breaking point when he wasn’t invited to a friend’s wedding because they thought he might embarrass them by getting drunk.
After giving up alcohol three years ago, the 29-year-old father of two can now reflect on the destruction caused by his addiction.
Mr Broomhall’s story comes as new data reveals of 463 alcohol-related presentations to Werribee Mercy Hospital in 2013-14, 392 involved people aged 10 to 29.
Supported by Wyndham council, the new VicHealth and state government’s No Excuse Needed campaign aims to change our binge- drinking culture.
For Clinton, the warning signs were there from an early age.
“For my 18th birthday at school, I brought in two bottles of Bourbon concealed in drink bottles and then preceded to throw up all over the bathroom walls,” he said.
“[It went from] drinking while working, excessive drinking at parties to the point where I wouldn’t remember the night, and going from having one drink on a Friday when I got home from work to having five or six every night.
“I had no idea what I was like when I was drunk. I’ve had reports that I have spat my drink all over people and started verbal fights with friends.
“Although I was never violent, sometimes emotional abuse can be worse.
“I was destroying my life. I nearly got kicked out of the band that I started with a mate because I couldn’t perform properly on stage while drunk. I’ve lost a lot of friends because of my antics while drinking,” he said.
“Not drinking has most definitely changed my life for the better.
“I can focus on my work and music a lot better now and the bosses have also seen a lot of improvement,” he said. “And I’m a better husband and father.”
The council’s youth portfolio-holder, Cr Marie Brittan, said a VicHealth study showed the majority of young people don’t go out intending to get drunk but often fall victim to peer pressure.
“We need to teach our young people that drinking to get drunk is a health hazard,” she said.
“Drinking to excess can lead to fights, traffic incidents and other accidents that can harm and injure our young people.”
“The No Excuse Needed campaign shows young people that they don’t need to make up excuses to stop drinking.
“It challenges them to question if and why they put pressure on others to drink.”
No Excuse Needed
For more information about the campaign, visit www.noexcuseneeded.com.au.
