Overview
Analysis on the National Drug Strategy Household Survey from 2019 found that about 3 in 4 Australians aged 14 and over had consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months, over 1 in 10 had smoked tobacco daily, and 2 in 5 had used an illicit drug in their lifetime (AIHW 2020).
Understanding what Australians think about drug use and their level of support for government drug policies is important for policy planning, development and evaluation.
The National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) is an important national survey that collects self-reported information from people across Australia. It asks people what they think about tobacco, alcohol and other drugs and about their use of these drugs. It also asks people about the measures that Australia takes to reduce drug use and drug-related harm. These include government laws for the sale and advertising of tobacco and alcohol, taxes on tobacco products, and government funding of rehabilitation and withdrawal management treatment programs. The survey captures important data on emerging issues such as support for pill testing/drug checking services, and emerging policy issues including electronic cigarettes/vaping and medicinal use of cannabis.
This report presents new analysis from the 2019 NDSHS that focuses on the attitudes and perceptions of people across Australia on various drug-related issues. All results are for people aged 14 and over and are based on self-reported data. The interactive data map allows people to select the region to see what people in that region thought about tobacco smoking, alcohol use, cannabis and other illicit drugs in 2019. The 2022 survey is currently in the field and will be completed in early December 2022. Households are randomly selected to complete the survey and have their say.
In 2019, most people supported government policies to reduce tobacco use and support was highest for measures related to protecting young people and minors. Measures to increase tax on tobacco products had the highest level of opposition. Support for tobacco policies was high across most regions. Explore the interactive data map for results by region.
About 7 in 10 (69%) people thought the use of electronic cigarettes should be restricted in public places and have similar restrictions to traditional cigarettes. However, the level of support varies by region and by jurisdiction, with 72% of people in the ACT supporting this measure compared with 61% in the Northern Territory. Explore the interactive data map for results by region.
To reduce problems associated with excessive use of alcohol, people most supported measures related to existing alcohol-related laws such as more severe legal penalties for drink-driving. Measures that would make it more difficult or more costly to obtain alcohol received the most opposition. Different policies however, had varying levels of support across jurisdictions and regions. For example, people living in Northern Territory were more likely to support ‘reducing the number of outlets that sell alcohol’ in comparison to people living in South Australia (33% supported it compared with 24%). Explore the interactive data map for more information.
In 2019, nearly 1 in 2 (45%) people approved of regular use of alcohol by adults. This approval level was higher than for any other drug. Alcohol was also the only drug for which the level of approval was higher than disapproval (45% compared with 21%).
For the first time in 2019, cannabis had a higher level of personal approval of regular use by an adult than tobacco (20% compared with 15%).