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

10% of drinkers drove a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in 2016 but this declined from 12% in 2013 Over the past 50 years, levels of apparent consumption of different alcoholic beverages changed substantially The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who smoke has declined significantly Homosexual/bisexual people were 5.8 times as likely as heterosexual people to use ecstasy and meth/amphetamines Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in Australia In 2016, recent use of cannabis was highest in NT, meth/amphetamine use was highest in WA, cocaine was highest in NSW There is a strong link between problematic alcohol or other drug use and experiences of homelessness Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable burden in Australia Support for legalisation of cannabis and use of it in clinical trials to treat medical conditions increased in 2016 The non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs is an increasing public health problem in Australia In 2016, about 1 in 8 Australians smoked daily while 6 in 10 had never smoked Among current smokers, 3 in 10 tried to quit but did not succeed and about 1 in 3 do not intend to quit 4 in 10 people either smoked daily, drank alcohol in risky quantities or used an illicit drug in the past 12 months 1 in 5 meth/amphetamine users used the drug weekly or more often in 2016 People who inject drugs experience considerably poorer health outcomes than other drug users Self-reported levels of psychological distress are increasing among recent users of tobacco and illicit drugs

Featured reports

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Highlights

1 in 6(17%) people consume alcohol at levels placing them at lifetime risk of an alcohol-related disease or injury
1 in 7(15%) people have consumed 11 or more standard drinks at least once in the previous 12 months
1 in 5(22%) Australians aged 14 and over reported being a victim of an alcohol-related incident in 2016. This has declined from 29% in 2010
1 in 4(26%) people have consumed alcohol at levels placing them at risk of harm on a single occasion, at least monthly
82%of 12–17 year olds reported abstaining from alcohol in 2016—a significant increase from 72% in 2013
35%of drug treatment episodes in 2017–18 were primarily for alcohol, making it the most commonly treated drug in Australia