Technical Paper 3:
Preventing Alcohol-related harm in Australia: a window of opportunity
2.2 - Drinking patterns among Australians
Table of contents
It is estimated that 83% of Australians are drinkers, and that 1.4 million Australians consume alcohol on a daily basis.[2] In 2007, males (10.8%) were almost twice as likely as females (5.5%) to drink daily.
Two in every five Australians drink on a weekly basis. However, there is a sizable proportion of the population (10.1% in 2007) who, for various reasons, have never drunk any alcohol (see Table 2).
Table 2: Frequency of alcohol consumption, proportion of the population aged 14+ years, Australia, 1991 to 2007
| Frequency | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | 1998 | 2001 | 2004 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily | 10.2 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 8.9 | 8.1 |
| Weekly | 41.0 | 39.9 | 35.2 | 40.1 | 39.5 | 41.2 | 41.3 |
| Less | 30.4 | 29.5 | 34.3 | 31.9 | 34.6 | 33.5 | 33.5 |
| Ex-drinker | 12.0 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 7.0 |
| Never | 6.5 | 13.0 | 12.2> | 9.4 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 10.1 |
Source: AIHW, National Drug Strategy Household Surveys,[2] various years
Almost three-quarters (72.6%) of Australians drink below levels that would incur long-term risk of harm. However, among young adults (aged 20–29 years), the prevalence of drinking at levels posing long-term risk of harm is significantly higher (16%) than among other age groups (see Fig. 3).This pattern of drinking is the equivalent of consuming 29 or more standard drinks per week for males and 15 or more standard drinks per week for females. Among Australian teenagers in 2007, this drinking pattern was considerably higher among females (10.6%) than among males (7%).
Figure 3: Drinking at risky/high risk of harm in the long term by age and year, proportion of the population aged 14+ years, Australia, 2007
Source: AIHW National Drug Strategy Household Survey[2]
While almost half (48.3%) of the Australian population drink at low risk levels, one in five Australians (20.4%) drink at short-term risky/high-risk levels at least once a month. This pattern of drinking is the equivalent of consuming seven or more standard drinks on any one day for males, and consuming five or more standard drinks on any one day for females. In short, this generally equates to drinking to the point of intoxication, or what is often termed as ‘binge drinking’. This sort of drinking is most prevalent among adults aged 20–29 years, one-quarter (24.9%) of whom do so on at least a monthly basis. Overall, Australian males are more likely than females to drink at short-term risky/high-risk levels on regular (at least once a month) occasions (17.1% of females compared to 23.6% of males). However, among teenagers, females are more likely than males to regularly drink at levels of risky/high-risk of harm in the short term: 28.3% of female teenagers compared to 24.5% of male teenagers (see Figs. 4 and 5). Between 2001 and 2007 there were only slight changes in the prevalence of drinking at risky/high risk of harm in the short term across the age groups.Figure 4: Monthly drinking at risky/high risk of harm in the short term* by age and year, proportion of the male population aged 14+ years, 2001 to 2007
Source: AIHW National Drug Strategy Household Survey[2]
Figure 5: Monthly drinking at risky/high risk of harm in the short term* by age and year, proportion of the female population aged 14+ years, 2001 to 2007
Source: AIHW National Drug Strategy Household Survey[2]
- (*Risky/high-risk drinking in the short term = seven or more standard drinks on any one day for males; five or more standard drinks on any one day for females.)