Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia

Introduction

Comparing Australian data on alcohol and other drugs with other countries supports planning and policy making. This page describes the use of alcohol and other drugs in Australia compared to other countries, focusing on widely-used drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and e-cigarettes, cannabis and amphetamines. For related information on Australia’s drug laws, see Policy context.

What data sources are available?

International data on indicators including alcohol consumption, smoking and use of vaping products are available from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD reports data from its 38 Member countries. Indicator methodology may vary between countries, which should be considered when interpreting the data. 

Information on stimulant consumption across different countries comes from Report 19 of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program. This report compared wastewater monitoring data collected in Australia with international data collected by members of the Sewage Core Group Europe (SCORE) network.

For more information, see Technical notes.

How do daily smoking rates vary across different countries?

Proportion of people who smoke daily

In 2024 or the nearest year of available data, Australia had the fifth lowest proportion of daily tobacco smoking among people aged 15 and over (8.5% in 2022–2023). This was lower than the OECD average of 14.8% (OECD 2025) (Table OECD1, Figure 1). The proportions of both females and males who smoke daily were also below the OECD average.

Number of cigarettes smoked per person per day

In 2024 or the nearest year of available data, Australia was slightly higher than the OECD average for number of cigarettes smoked per day. In Australia, people aged 15 and over who smoked tobacco smoked an average of 13.1 cigarettes per day, while the OECD average was 12.7 cigarettes per day (OECD 2025) (Table OECD2, Figure 1). 

How common is the use of vaping products in different countries?

The regular use of e-cigarettes in Australia is higher than the OECD average. In 2022–2023, 5.7% of people aged 15 and over in Australia used e-cigarettes regularly. The OECD average for regular use of vaping products was 4.8% for 2024 or the nearest year of available data (OECD 2025) (Table OECD3, Figure 2).

How much alcohol is available for consumption in different countries?

In 2023–24, there were 9.8 litres of pure alcohol available for consumption per person aged 15 years and over in Australia (AIHW 2025). This was higher than the OECD average (8.4 litres) (OECD 2025; Table OECD4, Figure 3). The most recent year of available data varies among countries. This should be considered when interpreting the data. The OECD report has not yet been updated with the latest available Australian data.

How common is the use of cannabis globally and across different countries?

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in Australia (AIHW 2024, Table 5.2), which is consistent with international data. The latest World Drug Report indicates that in 2023:

• Globally, cannabis was used in the past year by 4.6% of (or 244 million) people aged 15–64. According to qualitative assessments, cannabis cultivation trended upward between 2010 and 2021 but has recently been trending down.
• About 1 in 10 people who used cannabis, an estimated 22.6 million people globally, developed a cannabis use disorder (UNODC 2025).

How does stimulant consumption vary across different countries?

The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program (NWDMP) recently examined average stimulant consumption (amphetamine, methylamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA) in Australia compared with 24 countries across Europe, Oceania and Asia; also included was one city in the United States of America. From March–May 2022:

• Australia had the 6^th highest average total stimulant consumption of all included countries at 44 doses per 1,000 people per day, lower than the USA (110 doses per day), Czechia (73 doses), Sweden (68 doses), Belgium (54 doses) and the Netherlands (50 doses).
• Australia had the 3^rd highest average consumption of methylamphetamine (42 doses per 1,000 people per day), lower than the USA (85 doses per day) and Czechia (57 doses).
• Cocaine consumption in Australia ranked 18^th of 27 countries at 4.0 doses, compared with 35 doses for the highest-ranked country (Belgium) and 0.43 doses for the lowest-ranked countries (New Zealand; 0.43 doses and South Korea; 0.01 doses).
• Australia ranked 21^st of 27 reporting countries in MDMA consumption at 1.5 doses per 1,000 people per day, compared with the Netherlands (6.1 doses), New Zealand (4.3 doses) and Portugal (3.6 doses).
• Australia ranked 6^th of 16 reporting countries in cannabis consumption at 120 doses per 1,000 people per day, behind the USA (790 doses), Switzerland (160 doses) and the Netherlands (150 doses).

When examining each drug type as a proportion of total combined stimulant consumption:

• Most stimulant consumption in Australia related to methylamphetamine use, which is similar to New Zealand, Czechia, the USA, South Korea, Latvia, Cyprus and Turkey. Finland, Sweden, Poland and the United Kingdom had higher use of amphetamine and the remaining locations predominantly featured cocaine consumption.
• Average consumption in Australia was proportionally higher for methamphetamine than MDMA, which is consistent with most other countries.
• Cocaine consumption in Australia was proportionally higher than the use of MDMA. This was consistent with most participating countries but was the opposite of New Zealand (where MDMA consumption was higher than cocaine) (ACIC 2023).

Where do I go for more information?

• Health at a glance 2023, OECD
• World Drug report 2025, UNODC