Don’t Drink And Dive

Risks of mixing alcohol and water activities are in the summer spotlight for water safety and health promotion agencies.

Water Safety New Zealand and Alcohol Healthwatch are sharing a common plea this holiday period – Don’t drink and dive.

Water Safety’s Daniel Gerrard says generations of risk-taking behaviour by men continues to be reflected in national drowning statistics. Alcohol consumption may be a much more significant contributor to drowning fatalities and injury than has been identified in the past.

“Taking any risk around water can be dangerous, and when you combine taking risks with alcohol – it can be fatal. For 365 days a year we want to encourage Kiwis to make good choices around water – around public holidays and celebrations like New Year’s Eve the importance of knowing the risks of alcohol are critically important.”

Alcohol increases the risk of drowning and injury by impairing judgement, reducing coordination, and delaying reaction time.

On public holidays many people may start drinking alcohol earlier in the day, or drink in larger quantities says Executive Director of Alcohol Healthwatch Andrew Galloway. Staying alert to the dangers of mixing alcohol with activities such as swimming, boating, or simply relaxing at rivers, beaches, pools, and lakes is crucial to staying safe.

"Alcohol is a depressant drug which impacts your brain and central nervous system’s ability to process what’s going on around you. Your ability to make a sound judgement when you are driving a boat, a jet ski, or deciding if it’s safe to jump into a river are completely impacted by even a small amount of alcohol.

“Think of getting behind the wheel to drive a car after consuming alcohol – but even broader. Most water-based activities don’t involve the additional risk of an engine – it’s the people swimming at night, swimming alone, or taking that extra risk to show off to the group of mates. Everyone can benefit from cutting down drinking, this is another good reason to limit drinking to be safe in and around the water.“

Daniel Gerrard says people overestimating their ability in the water is already a significant driver of drowning risk. Adding alcohol in the mix exacerbates the decision-making risk.

“The scale of how much alcohol contributes to drowning incidents In New Zealand is something yet to be fully understood. But we do know many drownings come down to a split-second bad decision.

“A concerning trend year on year is people who enter the water without intending to – people falling into the sea on their way home from the pub or walking too close to the water’s edge.

“Making conclusions on alcohol-related drowning is a complex challenge, in part through the nature of formal inquiries and evidence gathering. What may not be so complex is calling time on our attitudes and behaviours around alcohol and water.”

• Every year we lose an average of 83 New Zealanders to drowning. More than 82 per cent of the people drowning in New Zealand are men.

• The average blood alcohol concentration of males who drowned over the past ten years with a positive reading of alcohol in their system is almost three times the legal driving limit. In 2021, the highest blood alcohol concentration recorded was 6.6 times the legal driving blood alcohol limit at 331mg/100ml.

• Research has found that alcohol is involved in between 30-40% of drowning deaths – but the real number may be higher, as alcohol involvement isn’t routinely reported on in coronial examinations.

• International evidence shows that alcohol-related drownings are more likely to occur among males than females, and on public holidays than any other time of the year. 

• Recent research from Water Safety NZ found that alcohol-related drowning among males occur differently in different contexts, with key findings including that: 

o The most common activity involving alcohol resulting in drowning was accidental immersion (62%) and swimming.

o Males aged 15-24 years old were the most impacted by alcohol-involved drownings.

o It was more common for freshwater drownings, rather than saltwater drownings, to involve alcohol.

o In cases involving alcohol and boating, alcohol-related drowning victims were less likely to be wearing a lifejacket, but more likely to have lifejackets available.

Learn more: watersafetynz.org/staying-safe-avoid-alcohol-around-water

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