Overview

The consumption of alcohol is widespread within Australia and entwined with many social and cultural activities. However, harmful levels of consumption are a major health issue, associated with increased risk of chronic disease, injury and premature death.

More reports and statistics on alcohol can be found under Alcohol & other drug treatment services, Illicit use of drugs and Smoking.

Latest findings

Smoking rates increase with socioeconomic disadvantage, but illicit drug use highest in the most advantaged areas. The non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs is an ongoing public health problem in Australia Smoking and drinking rates are down among gay, lesbian and bisexual people. In 2019, 43% of Australians had illicitly used a drug in their life and 16.4% had used one in the last 12 months. Non-medical pharmaceutical use is down, driven by a fall in use of pain-killers. People who inject drugs experience considerably poorer health outcomes than other drug users There is a strong link between problematic alcohol or other drug use and experiences of homelessness Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable health burden in Australia Australians are increasingly supportive of cannabis use and most support pill-testing. In 2019, 11.0% of Australians smoked tobacco daily, down from 12.2% in 2016 and 24% in 1991. Over the past 50 years, levels of apparent consumption of different alcoholic beverages changed substantially Between 2016 and 2019, the proportion of people who had ever used e-cigarettes rose from 8.8% to 11.3%. Between 2016 and 2019, the proportion of ex-drinkers rose from 7.6% to 8.9%. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia People with mental health conditions are more likely to use tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoke has declined significantly

Featured reports

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Highlights

4 in 5(79%) adults consumed alcohol in the previous year in 2019
2 in 3 (66%) 14–17 year olds had never consumed a full standard drink—an increase from 28% in 2001
In 2018, apparent consumption of alcohol was 9.5 litres per capita—a decline since 2008 when it was 10.8 litres per capita
1 in 5(21%) Australians aged 14 and over reported being a victim of an alcohol-related incident in 2019. This has declined from 26% in 2013
34%of clients sought treatment for alcohol as a principal drug of concern in 2019-20, the most common principal drug of concern
1 in 7(15%) people have consumed 11 or more standard drinks at least once in the previous 12 months