Alcohol, tobacco & other drugs in Australia

Introduction

The consumption of alcohol is widespread within Australia and associated with many social and cultural activities. However, alcohol use is a leading risk factor for the burden of disease in Australia and is associated with a range of health and social harms including hospitalisation and death. The estimated social cost of alcohol use in Australia was $72.9 billion in 2020–21, projected to rise to $75.0 billion in 2022–23 (Gadsden et al. 2023, Table 1). The most significant projected costs in 2022–23 were related to premature mortality ($29.1 billion) and morbidity ($23.3 billion), and workplace-related costs ($4.5 billion) (Gadsden et al. 2024, Figure 2).

This page focuses on alcohol use, treatment and harms in Australia. The reporting uses data from a range of sources, mostly national administrative and survey data. For related content on policies and laws related to alcohol (including policies related to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder), see Policy context.

What data sources are available?

There are a range of data sources that contain information about alcohol use, treatment and harms. These include self-report surveys of people who use alcohol, health administrative data (such as hospitalisations data), burden of disease analysis, and economic data (such as taxation data). Each data set uses a different methodology, and the language used to describe alcohol may also differ across sources.

For more information about each data source, see Technical notes.

What do we know about alcohol availability in Australia?

In 2023, the mean annual spend on alcohol across Australian households was $1,770, or $34 per household per week on average. Household spending on alcohol has fluctuated over time but has declined since 2021 when the household average was $1,929 (Laß et al. 2025).

Long term data from the Alcohol available for consumption in Australia report show that the volume of alcohol available per capita has gradually decreased since the mid-1970s (AIHW 2025b). In 2023–24, there were 217.1 million litres of pure alcohol available for consumption in Australia, down from 227.3 million litres in 2020–21 (AIHW 2025b). The amount of alcohol available for consumption per capita has also fallen in recent years, from 10.9 litres in 2020–21 to 9.8 litres in 2023–24. Wine accounted for the largest proportion of pure alcohol available for consumption in 2023–24 (42%), followed by beer (32%) and spirits (23%) (AIHW 2025b; Figure 1).

Of all pure alcohol in wine available for consumption in 2023–24, white and red wine made up a similar proportion (43% and 41% of total alcohol in wine, respectively). Full-strength beer was the most widely available form of beer in 2023–24, but the availability of mid-strength beer has risen and the availability of full- and low-strength beer has declined since 2008–09 (AIHW 2025b).  

What do we know about people who consume alcohol?

How many people consume alcohol and has it changed over time?

Most people in Australia aged 14 and older have consumed alcohol in their lifetime. The 2022–2023 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) found that of the population aged 14 and over:

• Over two-thirds (69%) had consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months (AIHW 2024b, Table 4.6).
• 14.9% had never consumed a full serve of alcohol (AIHW 2024b, Table 4.1).
• The proportion who consumed alcohol daily remained stable between 2019 (5.4%) and 2022–2023 (5.2%) (AIHW 2024b, Table 4.1; Figure 2).

How many people consume alcohol at risky levels, and does this differ by age and gender?

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has released risk guidelines to reduce the risk of alcohol-related harm. The NDSHS found around 1 in 3 people (31% or 6.6 million people) aged 14 and over consumed alcohol at risky levels (per the adult risk guidelines) in 2022–2023. This is a similar level to 2019, when 32% of the population (around 6.7 million people) reported drinking at risky levels (AIHW 2024b, tables 4.25 and 4.26; Figure 3). 

The 2022–2023 NDSHS found that:

• Males continued to be more likely than females to exceed adult risk guidelines for alcohol (39% of males aged 14 and over and 23% of females aged 14 and over).
• Fewer younger people (those aged 14-17) exceeded adult risk guidelines (5.5% in 2022–2023, compared with 9.5% in 2019) (AIHW 2024b, Table 4.28).

Data from the 2022 National Health Survey (NHS) were collected against the 2020 Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol. Estimates using self-reported data showed that in 2022:

• More than 1 in 4 (26.8%) Australians aged 18 and over exceeded Guideline 1 of the Australian Alcohol Guidelines. This includes people who consumed more than 10 drinks in the last week and/or consumed 5 or more drinks in any day at least monthly in the last 12 months.
• Men were more likely than women to exceed the guideline (35.8% compared with 18.1%).
• People born in Australia were more than twice as likely as those born overseas to exceed the guideline (33.0% compared with 16.0%) (ABS 2023).

How many women consume alcohol during pregnancy?

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to poorer perinatal outcomes including low birthweight, pre-term birth and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). People with FASD are affected for life and can experience challenges with learning, communication, memory and regulating behaviour and emotions (NOFASD 2026). 

An estimated 1 in 28 or 3.6% (95% confidence interval 2.9%, 4.4%) people in Australia have FASD, based on the best available data on prenatal alcohol exposure from a recent systematic review with meta-analysis (Tsang et al. 2025). This is similar to other high-income countries such as Canada and the United States (Tsang et al. 2025).

The NHMRC advises that women who are planning a pregnancy, or are pregnant, should not drink alcohol. Support to address alcohol consumption is available through antenatal clinics (AIHW 2024c).

Data on maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy were available in the National Perinatal Data Collection for 6 of 8 jurisdictions in 2023 (excluding New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory). In 2023, most women who gave birth reported they did not consume alcohol during their pregnancy: 2.4% of women reported consuming alcohol in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, decreasing to 0.5% of women after 20 weeks of pregnancy (AIHW 2025c). In 2023, reported consumption of alcohol in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy was more common among women who:

• lived in Remote (4.0%) or Very remote (7.6%) areas
• were aged under 20 (5.5%) (AIHW 2025c).

However, women from these population groups showed a decrease in reported alcohol consumption after 20 weeks of pregnancy to:

• 1.5% in Remote areas and 3.6% in Very remote areas 
• 1.3% of women aged under 20 (AIHW 2025c).

Some women may consume alcohol before they know they are pregnant and stop once they find out they are pregnant. Data from the 2022–2023 NDSHS showed that:

• Over 1 in 4 (28%) women who had been pregnant in the past 12 months consumed alcohol at some stage during their pregnancy, similar to 29% in 2019.
• Of pregnant women who reported a period of time they were unaware of their pregnancy, 64% had consumed alcohol before knowing they were pregnant.
• After they became aware of their pregnancy, women were much less likely to consume alcohol (AIHW 2024b, Table 10.21).

Does alcohol use differ by geographic area?

Since 2010, the proportion of people aged 14 and over consuming alcohol at risky levels has declined across all states and territories, socioeconomic areas and remoteness areas (AIHW 2024b). 

Detailed information on alcohol and other drug use by geographic areas, including state and territory data, is available in Geographic areas.

What are the harms associated with alcohol use?

Alcohol is absorbed rapidly in the bloodstream and affects the brain within about 5 minutes, though this may vary from person to person depending on body mass and general state of health (NDARC 2017). Short-term effects of alcohol such as a sense of relaxation and reduced inhibitions, may add to the appeal of its consumption. However, when consumed in excess, alcohol can also produce unpleasant effects such as nausea and vomiting and may influence people to engage in harmful behaviour (Table 1).

Source: NDARC (2017).

How does alcohol use contribute to the burden of disease and injury?

The Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024 found that alcohol use was the sixth highest risk factor contributing to the burden of disease in Australia and was responsible for 4.1% of the total burden of disease and injury (Table ABDS1). The age-standardised rate of total attributable burden due to alcohol use was 8.3 Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) per 1,000 population in 2024, a 13.5% decline from 9.6 DALY per 1,000 population in 2003.

Alcohol use contributed to a number of diseases and injuries including:

• 100% of the burden due to alcohol use disorders
• 39% of the burden due to liver cancer
• 26% of the burden due to road traffic injuries involving motor vehicle occupants
• 20% of the burden due to chronic liver disease
• 13% of the burden due to suicide and self-inflicted injuries
• 11% of the burden due to breast cancer (AIHW 2024a, Table S6).

Alcohol-related injuries

In 2019–20, alcohol-related injuries accounted for 5.7% of all injury hospitalisations and 14% of all injury deaths (AIHW 2023). For more information, see Alcohol-related injury: hospitalisations and deaths, 2019–20. 

The 2022–2023 NDSHS reported those who consumed alcohol at risky levels were:

• 14 times as likely to experience an injury requiring medical attention while under the influence of alcohol (4.2% compared with *0.3%) as those who did not drink at risky levels
• 10.5 times as likely to have experienced an injury requiring admission to hospital while under the influence of alcohol (2.1% compared with *0.2%) (*Estimate has a relative standard error between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution) (AIHW 2024b, Table 4.52).

Alcohol-related ambulance attendances

Data on alcohol and other drug-related ambulance attendances are sourced from the National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS) and are currently available for six of the eight Australian states and territories (excluding Western Australia and South Australia). 

Alcohol intoxication accounts for the highest number and rate of alcohol and other drug-related ambulance attendances. There were over 99,200 ambulance attendances for alcohol intoxication among people aged 15 and over in 2024, or 540 per 100,000 population (Table NASS3).

Among these attendances:

• almost 3 in 5 (59%) were for males
• the highest rate of attendances was for people aged 45–54 (740 per 100,000 population) (Table NASS3).

Between 2021 and 2023, the number and rate of alcohol intoxication-related ambulance attendances overall increased from around 97,300 (565 per 100,000 population) to around 103,400 (575 per 100,000 population). The number and rate of attendances overall decreased between 2023 and 2024, largely due to a decrease in attendances in Victoria (from around 27,900 attendances (498 per 100,000 population) to around 17,300 (302 per 100,000 population). This is explained by industrial action by paramedics in Victoria between March and September 2024, which resulted in fewer ambulance attendances being captured over that period. 2024 data should be interpreted with caution (Table NASS3).

Alcohol-related hospitalisations

Alcohol has continued to account for a higher rate of hospitalisations than any other drug over the past decade, though alcohol-related hospitalisations have remained stable in recent years (see Figure 1). Alcohol accounted for almost 3 in 5 drug-related hospitalisations in 2023–24 (58% or 84,318 hospitalisations), a rate of 312.8 hospitalisations per 100,000 people (tables NHMD2 and NHMD3) (see Figure 1). 

Among alcohol-related hospitalisations in 2023–24:

• Over half (52% or 44,234 alcohol-related hospitalisations) involved an overnight stay, while the remainder ended with a same-day discharge.
• Almost 3 in 5 (59% or 49,354) were for males.
• 3 in 5 (60% or 50,306) were for people aged 45 years and over (tables NHMD1–NHMD3).

Alcohol-induced deaths

Preliminary estimates from Causes of Death, Australia indicate there were 1,765 alcohol-induced deaths in 2024, higher than for any other drug. This represents an age-standardised rate of 5.9 deaths per 100,000 people (ABS 2025, Table 13.11). The number and rate of alcohol-induced deaths has risen over the past decade, from 1,362 deaths in 2015 (5.2 per 100,000 people) (ABS 2025, Table 13.11).

Among all alcohol-induced deaths in 2024:

• 9 in 10 (90%, or 1,585) deaths were related to chronic conditions such as liver cirrhosis, while the remainder were due to acute conditions such as alcohol poisoning (10% or 180 deaths).    
• The death rate was higher for males than females (8.9 compared with 3.0 deaths per 100,000 population, respectively).
• The median age at death was 58.4 years (ABS 2025, tables 13.11, 13.15 and 13.16).

AIHW analysis of the National Mortality Database showed that of the 1,765 alcohol-induced deaths registered in 2024:

• The highest age-specific rates were for older people – 16 per 100,000 population for those aged 55–64 and 13 for those aged 45–54 (Table NMD6). 
• The majority (74% or 1,311 deaths) were recorded for males (Table NMD5).
• Almost half (47% or 837 deaths) recorded mental and behavioural disorders due to psychoactive substance use as an associated cause of death (that is, a factor that contributed to the death but was not the underlying cause of death) (Table NMD8).

How many people receive treatment for alcohol use?

Alcohol cessation medicines

Data from Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) provide information about prescription medicines that are used to help people stop or reduce their alcohol consumption (alcohol cessation medicines), including the number of prescriptions dispensed and the number of patients dispensed a script. Data from the PBS show that rates of dispensing for alcohol cessation medicines have risen between 2012–13 and 2024–25 (tables PBS78 and PBS80). 

Specialist treatment for alcohol use

Of the 49,552 clients who received treatment for alcohol as their principal drug of concern in 2023–24:

• 3 in 5 (60%) were male (AIHW 2025a, Table SC.9).
• 1 in 4 (26%) clients were aged 40–49 and a further 1 in 4 (25%) were aged 30–39 (AIHW 2025a, Table SC.10).
• 1 in 6 (17%) were First Nations people (AIHW 2025a, Table SC.11).

Additionally, 62% (56,679) of treatment episodes provided to clients for their own use of alcohol in 2023–24 were for people who had previously received AOD treatment since 2013–14 (AIHW 2025a, Table SCR.28a).

Where do I go for more information?

• Risky alcohol consumption in the NDSHS
• Support for alcohol and other drug-related policies