The group - including the head of the Public Health Association of Australia, Helen Keleher, and former Australian of the Year, Fiona Stanley - have written to politicians to express their support for low-impact poker machines and a mandatory pre-commitment scheme that would enable pokie users to select an amount they are willing to lose before they start gambling.
"An effective response to the harms of problem gambling is required urgently. As we have learnt from other successful public health responses, social marketing and education campaigns alone will not work," they wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
"For every person with a gambling problem, between five and 10 others are affected: children, husbands, wives, partners, employers, neighbours, family and friends," they added.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the letter said a mandatory pre-commitment scheme for gamblers would further establish Australia as a world leader in public health.
"As was the case with tobacco, gun controls and seatbelts, when there is compelling evidence of serious and immediate threats to public health we are compelled to take action to minimise harm.
"Each year that we delay the introduction of effective measures to address harms derived from gambling on poker machines, hundreds of thousands of people will experience gambling problems."
You can read more at the SMH or ABC Online.
According to the Productivity Commission Inquiry Report released in 2010, there are between 80 000 and 160,000 Australian adults suffering severe problems from their gambling. The costs to problem gamblers in 2008-09 ranged between $4.7 and $8.4 billion.
In March, Mission Australia threw its support behind a campaign, jointly launched by Independent Tasmanian MP, Andrew Wilkie and advocacy group, GetUp, to combat attempts to undermine the Federal Government’s planned poker machine reforms.
Tonight Four Corners examines this campaign tonight at 8.30pm on ABC1.
Further information:
- 'One-stop-shop' to tackle problem gambling
- Craigie passes on smart gambling message
- If you or someone you know needs support to overcome a gambling addiction visit www.triplerservices.com.au
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