Wine Information Council
23 april 2017
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How much alcohol is consumed outside of the lifetime risk guidelines in Australia?

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of long-term risky drinking within the Australian population and the proportion of standard drinks that is consumed outside of the long-term risk (LTR) guidelines of two Australian standard drinks (ASD) per day.

DESIGN AND METHODS: Recruited by phone, 2020 Australian adults with an oversampling of risky drinkers were asked detailed questions about how much alcohol they consumed at a range of locations in 2013. Descriptive statistical analyses of data weighted to be representative of the Australian adult population were undertaken, with a focus on the ASD consumed above the LTR guidelines.

RESULTS: Although 28% of respondents drink at levels above the LTR drinking guidelines, 56% of all ASD consumed are above the two per day recommended to reduce LTR. Three-quarters of cask wine and liqueurs were consumed outside of the LTR guidelines, as were 58% of all ASD consumed in the home, similar to the proportion of ASD consumed above the guidelines in pubs (55%).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: While the minority of Australians drink to LTR levels, the majority of alcohol is consumed by long-term risky drinkers. More research and policy focus on the patterns of alcohol consumption that lead to long-term risk, particularly outside of licensed premises, is required.

[Callinan S, Livingston M, Room R, Dietze PM. How much alcohol is consumed outside of the lifetime risk guidelines in Australia?. Drug Alcohol Rev 2017;00:000-000]

Additional Info

  • Authors

    Callinan S.; Livingston M.; Room R.; Dietze P.M.

  • Issue

    Drug Alcohol Rev. 2017 Apr 23. doi: 10.1111/dar.12545. [Epub ahead of print]

  • Published Date

    23 april 2017

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