Pokies -- are they the most disgusting feature of Aussie culture?

dorian · Guru

Pokies -- are they the most disgusting feature of Aussie culture?

Possum3 · Guru

All of them should be banned along with all other forms of gambling - won't happen of course as there are Billions of dollars involved - both taxes and illegal proceeds of crime being laundered.

Cuppa · Guru

No, there are other features of Australian culture which remain far worse than pokies.

No doubt if a list were compiled, pokies would figure in it somewhere.

Of course if considered 'features' of Aussie culture, anything on the list would have it's supporters.

-- Edited by Cuppa on Thursday 9th of March 2023 11:04:41 AM

yobarr · Guru

dorian wrote:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-09/poker-machines-gambling-addiction-in-nsw-election-spotlight/102061826
The Murray River Local Government Area (LGA), which includes the town of Moama, hosts 998 poker machines in a population of 13,000.
Poker-machine density in the border region is higher than Sydney's pokie hotspots, like Canterbury-Bankstown, which has one machine for every 78 residents, and Fairfield , where it's one for every 54.

Pretty high unemployment (unemployable?) levels in those areas. Gotta do something to fill in their days. Lived in Fairfield many moons ago and regularly had children at my house asking for food because Mum had been at "The Club" all day and put ALL her housekeeping money through the pokies, meaning that there was no money available for their staple diet of Maccas.Cheers

Collo · Senior Member

Back in the 80s and 90s, I played in a band where 80% of our work was in the clubs all along the Murray. Usually we played Friday and Saturday night. Saturday mornings we would go in a 9am and have a quite rehearsal. About 9:45, people would come in and sit at their favourite poker machine and wait for it to be turned on at 10am. They would be there for hours.

I gave them a go only once and found it a brain dead exercise that cost me $10.

Another thing which may be worse than the pokies, is these sports betting apps that a lot of young men seem to have.

Neither myself or my wife do any form of gambling, not even a lotto ticket and I'm pleased to say our children are the same.

Collo.

Plain Truth · Guru

The Murray River Local Government Area covers a lot of tourist towns,it also covers a large area with a low population density at normal times.

Come holiday times I am sure they are all used.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Back in the1980s I bought an old retired 10c mechanical poker machine for a mate for next to nothing. The lock was removed from the cash draw.

The mechanics in the machine were pretty impressive, good thing was you could keep putting the money back through the machine. There was a pile of 10c pieces that could be endlessly recycled. They never seemed to disappear.

Magnarc · Guru

Ah Possum, you are so right. This industry, (for want of a better word) is akin to an insidious cancer that is causing untold misery to the participants and their families, has been the cause of families disintegrating, huge debts and on and on it goes. Every time there is a sporting event on tv there is a plethora of betting ads in every ad break, all designed to relieve the punter of his money.

The AFL gets big kick backs from a particular company hence the hoardings round every ground carry their advertising. These companies,lot of whom are overseas based, are by the nature of their huge resources, also major contributors to the commercial television companies revenue.

It's time that some sort of brake should applied to their activities. Maybe a cap on how many times these ads can be aired would be a start. I hear some folk say that they do give to amateur sport and kids activities, it would be interesting to see what proportion of their profits this entails, 1%,2%??? I doubt if it's even that.

It is time that these people were legislated against but I fear that will not happen because governments have a financial stake in them, also they have very active lobbyists. Unfortunately people will still play the odds always in the hope that they will get the BIG one, poker machines are designed to provide revenue to the "house" not the punter and although there will be the odd big win, they are few and far between.

Punters will always tell you about their big win but you never hear of how much they have spent to get it!

Cuppa · Guru

Growing up overseas I recall that the three traits that everyone 'knew' about Australians were that 'they' all drank lots of beer, they wore hats with corks on to keep the flies away & that they would bet on anything.

-- Edited by Cuppa on Thursday 9th of March 2023 11:43:03 AM

Whenarewethere · Guru

Sorry, double post

-- Edited by Whenarewethere on Thursday 9th of March 2023 11:57:14 AM

Whenarewethere · Guru

The problem is the drug pushers Government is extremely addicted, so untill that problem can be solved it is going to be difficult to fix the problem with the end user.

-- Edited by Whenarewethere on Thursday 9th of March 2023 11:56:32 AM

smwhiskey · Senior Member

Magnarc wrote:
Ah Possum, you are so right. This industry, (for want of a better word) is akin to an insidious cancer that is causing untold misery to the participants and their families, has been the cause of families disintegrating, huge debts and on and on it goes. Every time there is a sporting event on tv there is a plethora of betting ads in every ad break, all designed to relieve the punter of his money.

Last time I checked, nobody was physically forcing people to put coins in the pokies, gamble on a footy game or shove Maccas down their throats. Its a personal choice to walk in and participate and its an easier solution to blame everybody/everything else instead of themselves for the results.

But then again it seems we now live in a society where the concept of people taking responsibility for their own actions no longer exists.

Simon

Whenarewethere · Guru

Calibrate the machines to a $1.00 play per hour.

dorian · Guru

@smwhiskey, I understand your point, but I have seen the consequences for myself. For some people, gambling is a mental disorder. It's something they cannot control.

In fact, I know of two sisters who put an entire $600K third party compensation payout through poker machines. What sort of society allows this to happen? Does the club assuage its guilt by giving their patron's children a footy jumper (emblazoned with their benefactor's logo)?

Magnarc · Guru

Simon, addiction tends to over rule positive thinking. There are times when some assistance is needed to help people overcome the problem. To simply say that they can do it themselves is to sweep the problem under the carpet. The damage done to families is horrendous let alone what it does to the gambler. The sad

fact remains that there are people who are not able to control their gambling, don't they deserve some help?

Mein · Senior Member

Last time I checked, nobody was physically forcing people to put coins in the pokies, gamble on a footy game or shove Maccas down their throats. Its a personal choice to walk in and participate and its an easier solution to blame everybody/everything else instead of themselves for the results.

But then again it seems we now live in a society where the concept of people taking responsibility for their own actions no longer exists.

Simon

I agree 100%

The sad fact remains that there are people who are not able to control their gambling, don't they deserve some help?

Magnarc

Help from their family and friends? Sure. Help from governments / councils? No.

The following may seem totally off-topic but, bear with me.

In February this year, the sale of paracetamol was limited to 16 pills/capsules at supermarkets and other non-pharmacy outlets, down from 24 I believe, and 32 tablets / capsules at pharmacies, down from 100.

The law was changed to protect us.

Protect us from what / who?

Protect us from ourselves!

Day-by-day, our personal freedoms (personal choices) are being reduced by our governments (State and federal). I foresee a point in the not-too-distant future where there will be legislated limits on our alcohol consumption and sugar consumption, legislated requirements that certain apparel must be worn when playing sport, mandatory use of sunblock when going to the beach, and more.

dorian · Guru

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-09/former-prison-boss-sentenced-for-stealing-from-inmates/102073444

"... the father-of-two put more than $1 million through poker machines at the Adelaide Casino."

smwhiskey · Senior Member

Magnarc wrote:
Simon, addiction tends to over rule positive thinking. There are times when some assistance is needed to help people overcome the problem. To simply say that they can do it themselves is to sweep the problem under the carpet. The damage done to families is horrendous let alone what it does to the gambler. The sad
fact remains that there are people who are not able to control their gambling, don't they deserve some help?

Yes. But isn't the first step to recovery admitting that you have a problem? Goes back to personal responsibility. Till that happens it doesn't matter how much "help" you offer nothing will change.

IMHO Just getting the government to legislate the solution probably isn't going to solve the problem either...its just going to drive it underground as we saw in the 1920's when the US decided to ban the booze or drive people to alternatives as we saw in Australia with the alcopop tax.

Simon

-- Edited by smwhiskey on Thursday 9th of March 2023 02:44:55 PM

dorian · Guru

Mein wrote:
In February this year, the sale of paracetamol was limited to 16 pills/capsules at supermarkets and other non-pharmacy outlets, down from 24 I believe, and 32 tablets / capsules at pharmacies, down from 100.
The law was changed to protect us.
Protect us from what / who?

Paracetamol is dangerous if taken incorrectly. Limiting its supply is no different than limiting the supply of other dangerous substances. I admit that the news of the woman's misadventure came as a big surprise to me.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/mum-dead-after-16-panadol/news-story/6b2d2a4822690dddc7044986348b324d

A MOTHER-of-four who accidentally overdosed on paracetamol tablets died because Sydney's public health system failed her, a coroner's court has been told.

On October 9, 2004 Jatinder Bajwa took 16 tablets over four hours for a headache.

Craig1 · Guru

By limiting the pack size, they also almost double the price as well, great economics for those most in need, usually or often with the smallest amount of spare money.

smwhiskey · Senior Member

Mein wrote:

The following may seem totally off-topic but, bear with me.
In February this year, the sale of paracetamol was limited to 16 pills/capsules at supermarkets and other non-pharmacy outlets, down from 24 I believe, and 32 tablets / capsules at pharmacies, down from 100.
The law was changed to protect us.
Protect us from what / who?
Protect us from ourselves!

No. Changed to protect those who can't or won't read the microscope sized instructions on the side of a bottle that say to take 1-2 tablet every 4 hours with a maximum of 8 per day.

Or for the conspiracy theorists, its so the pill count will be reduced but the cost will remain the same leading to increased profit for the company.

Instead of changing the number of pills in a bottle, maybe they should have legislated to make the warning labels in a font of readable size. I've got a bottle of of paracetamol in front of me and realistically without my glasses (the new stronger pair) I'd have a snowballs chance in hell of reading the instructions/warning or ingredients.

Personally I don't think it'll make a lot of difference. People will just go from shop to shop till they get what they want. In my local shopping centre it'll be Woolies -> Coles -> Pharmacy -> Chemist Warehouse-> K-Mart -> Target -> repeat as necessary.

Simon

Cuppa · Guru

I'm wondering if the law about how much paracetamol can be purchased has changed again?

We do an online Pharmacy order every so often here. Last time we found that we could not order more than 20 tablets of paracetamol within our order.
Yesterday we did another order for a few things & were able to order a 100 tablet pack with no issue at all. Certainly far cheaper than buying smaller packs.

Also noticed that some brands of paracetamol was being sold in larger dose tablets, 665mg as well as the usual 500mg. Haven't noticed that before.The higher dose one has a note saying that a pharmacist will consult with you before dispensing though. The 100 x 500mg ones don't.

dorian · Guru

https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-interim-decision-reduce-maximum-paracetamol-pack-sizes

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has today [Feb 3, 2023] published an interim decision to reduce the maximum pack sizes for various paracetamol products.

The interim decision proposes to amend the Poisons Standard (which provides regulatory controls over medicine availability) to:

reduce the maximum size of packs available for General Sale (e.g. supermarkets and convenience stores) from 20 to 16 tablets or capsules
reduce the maximum size of packs available in pharmacies without supervision of a pharmacist (i.e. Pharmacy Only packs) from 100 to 32 tablets or capsules
make other pack sizes of up to 100 tablets or capsules only available under the supervision of a pharmacist (Pharmacist Only medicines).

Packs of paracetamol on General Sale and Pharmacy Only sale would also be required to be in blister packaging to deter overdose from ingesting large numbers of tablets or capsules.

dorian · Guru

https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-interim-decision-reduce-maximum-paracetamol-pack-sizes

I tried to quote from that TGA article, but this forum's cr@ppy software flagged the content as spam.

Basically, the TGA are limiting the sales of paracetamol at supermarket outlets, but it's largely business as usual at pharmacies.

-- Edited by dorian on Thursday 9th of March 2023 04:07:21 PM

Cuppa · Guru

dorian wrote:
https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-interim-decision-reduce-maximum-paracetamol-pack-sizes
I tried to quote from that TGA article, but this forum's cr@ppy software flagged the content as spam.
Basically, the TGA are limiting the sales of paracetamol at supermarket outlets, but it's largely business as usual at pharmacies.

-- Edited by dorian on Thursday 9th of March 2023 04:07:21 PM

I'm guessing that must be a more recent 'refinement/interpretation of the rules'?

Our online purchase is from a pharmacy (Superpharmacy) - but same place as last time when we were restricted to a single pack of 20 paracetamol.

EDIT: Having read your linked article & seen it's recent date, I can only conclude that mail order may be treated differently to walking into a shop because by it's nature it will not represent the same 'impulse risk'.???

-- Edited by Cuppa on Thursday 9th of March 2023 04:23:17 PM

Whenarewethere · Guru

All these BS regulations... no different to the asbestos report required in NSW for blocks of units.

The certified company would barely know where to look for asbestos. They missed quite a bit in obvious places.

Their report is so full of disclaimers it wouldn't even be functional for toilet paper!

Aussie1 · Guru

Mein wrote:

Last time I checked, nobody was physically forcing people to put coins in the pokies, gamble on a footy game or shove Maccas down their throats. Its a personal choice to walk in and participate and its an easier solution to blame everybody/everything else instead of themselves for the results.
But then again it seems we now live in a society where the concept of people taking responsibility for their own actions no longer exists.
Simon

I agree 100%

The sad fact remains that there are people who are not able to control their gambling, don't they deserve some help?
Magnarc

Help from their family and friends? Sure. Help from governments / councils? No.

The following may seem totally off-topic but, bear with me.
In February this year, the sale of paracetamol was limited to 16 pills/capsules at supermarkets and other non-pharmacy outlets, down from 24 I believe, and 32 tablets / capsules at pharmacies, down from 100.
The law was changed to protect us.
Protect us from what / who?
Protect us from ourselves!
Day-by-day, our personal freedoms (personal choices) are being reduced by our governments (State and federal). I foresee a point in the not-too-distant future where there will be legislated limits on our alcohol consumption and sugar consumption, legislated requirements that certain apparel must be worn when playing sport, mandatory use of sunblock when going to the beach, and more.

X2 Absolutely correct. Will add I am glad we do not have "pockies" here in WA. Only the casino for the "loosers".

Xyz · Veteran Member

smwhiskey wrote:
Magnarc wrote:
Ah Possum, you are so right. This industry, (for want of a better word) is akin to an insidious cancer that is causing untold misery to the participants and their families, has been the cause of families disintegrating, huge debts and on and on it goes. Every time there is a sporting event on tv there is a plethora of betting ads in every ad break, all designed to relieve the punter of his money.
Last time I checked, nobody was physically forcing people to put coins in the pokies, gamble on a footy game or shove Maccas down their throats. Its a personal choice to walk in and participate and its an easier solution to blame everybody/everything else instead of themselves for the results.
But then again it seems we now live in a society where the concept of people taking responsibility for their own actions no longer

Can you not see the damage this industry does to families. confuse yawn furious furious

Ian

-- Edited by Webmaster on Friday 10th of March 2023 10:34:53 AM

Aussie1 · Guru

smwhiskey wrote:
Magnarc wrote:
Ah Possum, you are so right. This industry, (for want of a better word) is akin to an insidious cancer that is causing untold misery to the participants and their families, has been the cause of families disintegrating, huge debts and on and on it goes. Every time there is a sporting event on tv there is a plethora of betting ads in every ad break, all designed to relieve the punter of his money.
Last time I checked, nobody was physically forcing people to put coins in the pokies, gamble on a footy game or shove Maccas down their throats. Its a personal choice to walk in and participate and its an easier solution to blame everybody/everything else instead of themselves for the results.
But then again it seems we now live in a society where the concept of people taking responsibility for their own actions no longer exists.

Simon

Very good points Simon. Last time I checked I got the same result. i.e. nobody forcing anyone. weak and feeble minded loosers.

And you are certainly not blind, deaf or dumb in my opinion.

Xyz · Veteran Member

I think maybe he's not alone, but thats hardly a surprise