Like thousands of other Australians, I’ve signed up to take part. As CEO of Life Education NSW, I see firsthand just how imperative these programs are. Some startling new research made me think a little harder about the reasons why Ocsober is so important. Two new reports showed that alcohol education to our younger generation is working but alcohol misuse among older Australians is getting worse.

The latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data, released last week, found that in 2010 the proportion of people aged 18 to 29 years drinking at risky levels “declined significantly”.

Conversely, those in their 60s were the group most likely to consume five or more standard drinks on at least five days per week. Life Education and its iconic mascot Healthy Harold the giraffe have been educating Australian children for almost 40 years. This year alone, in NSW Life Education has seen 280,000 children, including 2400 students from 10 schools in the Port Stephens area.

These new statistics are a powerful indication of just how effective preventative health education is. But they also point to a problem among older Australians. There is much focus on binge drinking among young Australians. But our alcohol culture is perpetuated by the behaviour of adults.

If there was ever a motivation to lose the booze, research this week has also found a correlation between alcohol consumption and cancer mortality. A report by the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR) and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) found reducing Australia’s per-capita alcohol consumption by just one litre a year would drive a significant reduction in head, neck and liver cancer deaths.

More than 3000 Australians are diagnosed with alcohol related cancer each year. We talk a lot about the short term risks of binge drinking but what most Australians don’t realise is it’s the cumulative effect of our drinking that increases our risk of a range of cancers including liver, bowel, mouth and breast cancer.

A rest from alcohol for a month is something we should all do for ourselves. It’s concerning that a month off the booze is seen as such a challenge by many.