Why Australia needs an effective national campaign to reduce coastal drowning

The beach is popular but potentially dangerous Australia has more than 30,000 km of coastline and 10,685 beaches.1 Beaches are a key attraction for both domestic and international tourists with approximately 80 million visits each year.2 The coast, particularly the beach, is an integral part of the Australian lifestyle and tourism economy, but is sadly also a source of many preventable deaths and injuries.3 Drowning is a major public health problem with substantial personal, societal and economic costs. In 2003-04 alone, a further 11,316 were rescued by Australian lifesavers, emphasising both an enormous use of resources and that the risk of drowning may be higher than the number of deaths indicate.2 In the state of New South Wales (NSW), the total lifetime cost of drowning incidents occurring in 1998-1999 was estimated as A$ 72 million, representing an average cost of A$ 376,000 per injured person.8 The economic value of the prevention work of Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) was recently estimated at A$ 1 .4 billion for 2003-04, including A$ 831.7 million in prevented drownings, A$ 568.3 million in prevented permanent incapacitation and A$ 0.5 million in prevented first aid treatment.9 Rip currents are one of the greatest dangers for coastal drowning Rip currents are one of the greatest physical dangers to visitors on Australian beaches.