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A growing number of Australians are at high risk of serious diseases and premature death due to excess weight, alcohol use, and smoking. These conditions account for almost one-third of all illness in Australia, and they reduce people’s life expectancy by five years on average. Rates of overweight and obese children are also high in Australia.

These outcomes are a matter of great concern.

Preventative health measures can be effective in addressing these risks, and should be an integral part of Australia’s health care system.

There has been progress in Government policy responses to tackle smoking rates. However, there are gaps in the community level measures needed to address overweight and obesity, as well as excess alcohol use. These continue to be major health risks for Australians, particularly young Australians.

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It must be made easier for individuals of all ages to choose healthy lifestyles and behaviours. This requires the public to have access to a greater range of healthy choices and options in the community, and to be exposed to less promotion of unhealthy options and behaviours.

Almost 90 per cent of Australians visit a GP at least once a year. Surveys show that Australians trust the advice provided by their GP, and there is strong evidence that the preventative health advice that doctors provide is effective.

Australians need to be assured that their GPs will have the ongoing support that they need from the next Government to continue providing sound preventative health care.

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The next Government needs to better support doctors in their preventative roles.

The next Government must take advantage of the opportunities that doctors have to provide preventative advice to patients and promote good health and remove any barriers to doctors doing this.

Strategic, long-term and properly resourced population-based approaches to prevention can be effective.

There is increasing evidence to support various educational, fiscal, regulatory, and individual measures that can be taken at a society-wide level to ensure that healthy choices are the easier ones for people when it comes to eating, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use.

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The next Government must appropriately support doctors to further strengthen their contribution to prevention by introducing policies that:

• Provide patients with an MBS rebate for brief preventative interventions or follow-up provided by practice nurses, for and on behalf of the patient’s doctor;
• Provide patients with an MBS rebate for group preventative health and education sessions provided by medical practices;
• Improve indexation of MBS patients rebates to properly recognise the time that doctors spend on preventative health care during existing standard and long consultation MBS items; and
• Establish grant programs to suppport the development and implementation of ‘whole of practice’ prevention measures and programs suited to the practice population.

The next Government must continue to advance policies to reduce tobacco consumption. It must also promote immunisation programs, including educating families about the benefits of immunisation, and promote the benefits of physical activity.

The next Government must also support the following community level measures, which can be readily implemented, and will be especially effective in tackling harmful alcohol use and obesity in the community:

• Restrict alcohol advertising and promotion to locations, publications and times that minimise their influence on people under the age of 18;
• Phase out alcohol sponsorship of sporting event and youth music events, and prohibit alcohol sponsorship of junior sports teams, clubs or programs;
• Apply taxation to alcohol beverages in proportion to the volume of alcohol contained in the beverage;
• Prohibit the broadcast advertising of energy-dense and nutrient-poor food products and beverages (i.e. junk food) to children, particularly in children’s television viewing times;
• Mandate simple and informative nutritional labelling on food products; and
• Ensure that healthy food choices are affordable.

* For a full pdf version of the Key Health Issues for the 2010 Federal Election click here