The consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs is a major cause of preventable disease and illness in Australia. There are a wide range of data sources available that contribute to our understanding of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. This web report is intended to be a general reference for contemporary data on alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Australia. This report consolidates the most recently available information regarding the use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, meth/amphetamines and other stimulants, the non-medical use of pharmaceutical drugs, illicit opioids (including heroin) and new (and emerging) psychoactive substances (NPS).
Key trends in the availability, consumption, harms and treatment are identified and detailed data are presented for vulnerable populations. These population groups include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people experiencing homelessness, older people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ), people in contact with the criminal justice system, people with mental health conditions, younger people and people who inject drugs.
This report is accompanied by online supplementary data tables and a series of fact sheets for each drug type and population group. The report is regularly updated; please refer to the notes page for information on which pages have been updated.
The data presented in this report are from a range of different data sources and reflect the latest information available. As such, there are differences in the source year and frequency of publication—please refer to the Summary of main data sources used in this report for more information.
Content is correct as at 8 September 2020. Reports released after this date will be updated in the next scheduled release.