Australia's troubling addiction

Doctor's in Australia warn more people are suffering from gambling addiction than some types of chronic heart disease.

SYDNEY // Australia has become a "gambler's paradise" and doctors are warning that more people are suffering from addiction than some types of chronic heart disease and high blood pressure. A total of 80 per cent of Australia's adult population gambles, and billions of dollars are spent every year on horse and greyhound racing, in casinos, online or buying lottery tickets and scratch cards. When it comes to addiction, counsellors said the real menace is the poker - or slot - machine. New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, is home to 10 per cent of the world's supply of these electronic gaming devices. In the minds of problem gamblers, their flashing lights and chirpy, upbeat sounds are mesmeric. "Once I got in front of the machine, nothing else mattered. I just zoned out," said Nick, 50, a recovering addict from the city of Newcastle, north of Sydney. "There was nothing that could get to me and that in itself was a release. I suppose I could describe having a love affair with the poker machines. They were my mistress." It is estimated there are 350,000 gambling addicts in Australia - the equivalent to the population of the national capital, Canberra. Their habit often leaves a trail of debt, broken marriages, substance abuse and even suicide. Nick, a former builder, fought his demons for 20 years. It was a "terrible battle" that cost him his job, his marriage and almost his life. "Poker machines were the ones that brought me to my knees - countless thousands of dollars, and I'd hate to put a figure on it but the money is irrelevant today. It was the social impact that destroyed me - the relationship breakdowns and suicide attempts. "I just didn't want to live with the person that I'd become through my gambling, you know, lying, cheating, manipulating people just to try and get money to feed the habit." Nick eventually sought salvation at a residential retreat in Sydney that helps gamblers conquer their obsession, which is often triggered by financial worries, stress, boredom and psychiatric illness. Life on the straight and narrow can be a precarious existence for those in recovery and the line between abstinence and self-destruction is thin. "I can't guarantee that I won't gamble again," Nick said, "but I have to try and treat this thing on a daily basis. It's definitely an addiction, similar to alcohol and drugs. "If I go back and have another bet, I'm going to want to kill myself again. I have to be ever vigilant." General practitioners are being urged to pay more attention to the signs of gambling addiction in their patients during check-ups. John Gullotta, from the Australian Medical Association, said the country's gambling epidemic exacts a terrible toll on the nation's health. "Definitely gambling is up there with the main public health diseases that we look at. It is a disease. Everyone talks about high cholesterol, high blood pressure and strokes but gambling has devastating effects both psychologically and physically. It affects their family and eventually they become lonely and destitute and poor," he said. "It's important for doctors to be vigilant and to seek out people that are afflicted by gambling." Dr Gullotta added that the problem can manifest itself with alcoholism, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and marital and work problems. The gaming industry tries to promote a sensible approach to laying a wager. It helps to fund recovery programmes for addicts and is obliged by law to provide leaflets and statutory warnings on poker machines that urge players to know their limits and bet responsibly. Staff at pubs and clubs must also attend training courses that help them spot the signs of addiction. This crisis affects men and women, both young and old, although research has shown that those in poorer areas gamble more than their wealthier counterparts. Charities that offer frontline support to those enmeshed in compulsive gambling said it is a "cancer" that continues to spread. "We're seeing in Salvation Army services more people putting their hand up for a problem with gambling," said Gerard Byrne, who runs a counselling service in Sydney. "Gambling is often called the hidden addiction because you can't smell gambling on someone's breath. It's very corrosive because it does eat people's lives away." Australians gamble more than US$12.5 billion (Dh30bn) each year. The continent's state and territory governments are the biggest addicts of them all and it is estimated that 12 per cent of their income is from gaming taxes. Keith Garner, the head of the Wesley Mission, one of Australia's biggest charities, believes the reliance on this type of revenue is a major obstacle to recalibrating attitudes towards gambling. "There's an enormous amount of money every year spent on gambling. There is a dependency, really, on the income from gambling," Mr Garner said. "That in itself is a rather worrying feature of it. You could say the same thing about alcohol and tobacco but the thing about gambling is it draws people in and they get hooked on it in such a way that it destroys families." [e-mail]