Per capita alcohol consumption in Australia increasing

January 01, 0001

Per capita alcohol consumption in Australia increasing

The aim of this study was to estimate the national trend in per capita consumption (PCC) of alcohol for Australians aged 15 years and older for the financial years 1990-91 to 2008-09. With the use of data obtained from Australian Bureau of Statistics’ catalogues and World Advertising Research Centre reports, three alternative series of annual totals of PCC of alcohol for the past 20 years (1990-91 to 2008-09) were estimated based on different assumptions about the alcohol content of wine. For the "old" series, the alcohol content of wine was assumed to have been stable over time. For the "new" series, the alcohol content of wine was assumed to have increased once in 2004-05 and then to have remained stable to 2008-09. For the "adjusted" series, the alcohol content of wine was assumed to have gradually increased over time, beginning in 1998-99. Linear trend analysis was applied to identify significant trends.

The new and adjusted series of annual totals of PCC of alcohol showed increasing trends; the old series was stable.

The researchers concluded: "Until recently, official national annual totals of PCC of alcohol were underestimated and led to the mistaken impression that levels of alcohol consumption had been stable since the early 1990s. In fact, Australia’s total PCC has been increasing significantly over time because of a gradual increase in the alcohol content and market share of wine and is now at one of its highest points since 1991-92. This new information is consistent with evidence of increasing alcohol-related harm and highlights the need for timely and accurate data on alcohol sales and harms across Australia."

This does not take into account low-alcohol wines such as Moscato , Zibbibo and Cienna, which are increasing in popularity in Australia, but overall the consumption trends are worrying.

For the full abstract, click here.

MJA published online 1 November 2010 © The Medical Journal of Australia 2010
Per capita alcohol consumption in Australia: will the real trend please step forward?. Tanya N Chikritzhs, Steve J Allsop, A Rob Moodie and Wayne D Hall. Correspondence to Tanya Chikritzhs: [email protected]

Category: Z. Social Problems. Keywords: alcohol, consumption, per capita, Australia, review of catalogues and reports, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Stephen Wilkinson, Melbourne, Australia. Posted on Global Family Doctor 19 November 2010

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.