The image that Australians are high consumers of tobacco and
alcohol is fading. Australia has the third lowest rate of daily
smoking reported by the OECD, according to a report released today
by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Australia also performed well in terms of per capita consumption
of tobacco-ranking fourth lowest out of 22 countries reporting to
the OECD.
According to report author, Cid Mateo, the proportion of people
aged 14 years and over who smoke has fallen from 32.5% to 25.6%
among males and from 26.7% to 20.8% among females since 1991.
'However, one cigarette is still one too many, given that around
19,000 Australians die each year from tobacco-related illnesses,
and there's about a 20-year time lag between exposure to tobacco
smoke and onset of diseases such as cancer,' Mr Mateo said.
Australia ranked 15th among reported OECD countries for
consumption of alcohol in 2001 at 9.8 litres of pure alcohol per
year for each person aged 15 years and over. This was some way
behind Luxembourg, ranked first with 14.9 litres of pure alcohol
per person, slightly less than the United Kingdom (10.2 litres per
person), but more than New Zealand (8.9 litres per person) and the
United States (8.3 litres per person).
'The overall level of alcohol consumption in Australia is
returning to levels last seen in the 1960s,' Mr Mateo said.
'While the per capita consumption of wine had quadrupled over
the last 40 years, beer consumption was slightly lower now than in
1961-62'.
Other findings in Statistics on Drug Use in Australia 2002
include:
- Marijuana/cannabis was the most popular illicit drug in 2001,
with 1 in 3 people having used the drug at least once. Around 13%
used it in the last 12 months, 8% in the last month and 6% in the
last week.
- One in ten 14-17 year-olds were daily smokers, two-thirds
consumed alcohol in the past 12 months, 1 in 5 used
marijuana/cannabis in the last 12 months, 5% used amphetamines and
4% used ecstasy or designer drugs.
- While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up
around 2% of the Australian population in 2001, they were twice as
likely to smoke, drink alcohol at levels that significantly
increased the risk of acute and chronic harms, and use illicit
drugs than were non-Indigenous Australians.
- The proportion of fatally injured drivers and motorcycle riders
with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 g/100 mL or more
decreased from 44% in 1981 to 26% in 1998; most of this decrease
occurred between 1981 and 1992, after which the proportion has
remained around 26-30.
20 February 2003
Further information: Cid Mateo, tel. 02 6289
7225, or 0408 417 340 (mobile)
Mark Cooper-Stanbury, AIHW, tel. 02 6289 7027
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 02 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for details.