Australians are consuming less alcohol and smoking fewer
cigarettes than they were 10 years ago, but there has been an
increase in the use of marijuana, according to a report released
today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Statistics on Drug Use in Australia 2000 shows that on
the international stage, for annual per capita consumption of
cigarettes, Australia dropped from 10th place in 1986 to 17th in
1996. This equates to a drop from 2,710 to 2,017 cigarettes
annually for each Australian aged 15 years and over.
Australia ranked 19th for per capita consumption of alcohol in
1998 at 7.6 litres of pure alcohol per person per year. This was
some way behind first-ranked Luxembourg, with 13.3 litres of pure
alcohol per person, followed by Portugal with 11.2 litres per
person.
Australia ranked 9th on per capita consumption of beer, however,
at 95 litres per person, compared with the Czech Republic on top at
162 litres per person.
The proportion of Australians ever consuming marijuana (39%) was
similar to the USA (35%) and Denmark (31%), with the Australian
rate having risen from 33% in 1991.
Marijuana use in the past 12 months was considerably higher in
Australia (18%) than in England and the USA (9%), Spain (8%),
Canada (7%) and the Netherlands (5%).
Nearly half of all Australians aged 14 years and over have used
illicit substances at least once in their lives, while 23% report
having used an illicit drug in the last year.
On average each adult Australian spent $559 on tobacco in
1998-99, with total government revenue being in excess of $8.2
billion.
Per capita expenditure on alcohol on 1998-99 was $1,062.
According to co-author of the report, Megge Miller, most
Australians do not approve of either the regular use or the
legalisation of illicit drugs, although approximately one-quarter
think regular use of marijuana is acceptable.
Other findings in Statistics on Drug Use in Australia
2000 include:
- The number of hospital admissions attributable to drug use
increased from 179,000 in 1995-96 to 200,000 in 1997-98. Smoking
was the leading cause of drug-related hospital admissions (142,
525).
- More than 19,000 deaths in 1998-99 were attributable to tobacco
and just over 1,000 deaths were related to illicit drug use.
- One-third of Australian smokers unsuccessfully tried to quit
smoking in 1998.
14 June 2001
Further information:
Megge Miller, AIHW, tel. 02 6289 7519, or 0408 417 340
(mobile),
or Glenn Draper, AIHW, tel. 02 6289 5675
Media copies of the report: Publications Officer, tel. 02
6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability.