‘Smart Start – A Preloading Project’ ran predominantly in the Brisbane CBD between August, 2014 to late February, 2015.
‘Preloading’ in the studies included drinking, taking drugs (illicit), or mixing energy drinks with alcohol before heading out to licensed entertainment venues (i.e., pubs, bars, or clubs) in the CBD of a city.
The two sub-studies linked here cover the Gold Coast and Mackay.
The aim of the Smart Start project is to assess:
- Who is preloading
- Where they are preloading
- Type of preloading
- How much they are preloading
- What motivates people to preload
- Participants’ experiences of negative physical, psychological, and social consequences when preloading
- Participants’ perception of level of intoxication (i.e., Blood Alcohol Content – BAC reading) after preloading; and
- Levels of intoxication after preloading via recorded BAC readings