KiwiParent from Parents Center NZ Test Volume | Page 32

the ‘explosion’ in cases of FASD, as many of them are
referred to his practice.
Alcohol Healthwatch are also pressing the government
to curtail the ready availability of alcohol, and enforce
labelling so that the public is aware of the dangers.
Alcohol should surely be treated at least as seriously as
smoking. While there is no doubt that passive smoking
is detrimental to everyone’s health, including the
unborn, cigarette smoking doesn’t contribute to the road
toll like alcohol does, and doesn’t cause FASD.
A further unaddressed issue that may be compounding
the problem of our drinking culture is the alcohol
component of a sugar substitute added to ‘diet’ and
‘sugar-free’ drinks and foods, known as aspartame
(which contains phenylalanine); commonly called
NutraSweet, or Equal. Aspartame is touted as being
safe, but the explosion of FASD cases may be an
indication that it is not as safe as claimed.
Aspartame contains 10% methane alcohol, which
breaks down into formaldehyde – otherwise known
as embalming fluid – in the human body, and may be
about 20,000 times more toxic than most beverage
alcohols according to MD Dr Jim Bowen, a certified
neurologist practicing in Seattle.
Mix ‘zero’ (sugar-free) soft drinks with alcohol, and you
may be significantly increasing the risk of disaster to
an unborn child who has no ability to cope with this
dangerous concoction.

From Dominion Post 13.7.12

‘Plea to treat booze
like ciggies’
The children's commissioner says an "explosion" in
the number of children with signs of foetal alcohol
syndrome terrifies him.
Russell Wills, a paediatrician, yesterday urged a
health select committee inquiry into child abuse
to look again at a minimum-price regime for
alcohol sales and to treat alcohol "with the same
seriousness" as cigarettes.
"The effect of foetal alcohol syndrome honestly
terrifies me," Dr Wills said. "My outpatient work
is largely with children with severe behaviour
disorders, and like all of my colleagues, my
experience is the number of children that I'm
seeing with foetal alcohol effects has just
exploded in the last five years, and all of us are
seeing this."
At least one out of every 100 babies born in
New Zealand is estimated to have foetal alcohol
syndrome or alcohol-related neurodevelopmental
disorder.

FP

This needs to be considered because although it is clear
that NZ, like many countries around the world, has a
serious and rising binge-drinking culture, this alone may
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