Key findings
- Analysis of available data indicates that people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are less likely to consume alcohol and other drugs compared with people whose primary language spoken at home is English.
- People from CALD backgrounds (82.6%) are more likely to report never smoking, compared with those whose primary language spoken at home is English (59.5%).
- People from CALD backgrounds are more likely than those whose primary language spoken at home is English to abstain from alcohol consumption (49.4% compared to 18.9%) and illicit drug use (54.2% compared to 82.3%).
- The non-medical use of pharmaceuticals is the most commonly used drug among people from CALD backgrounds (3.4%).
- There is currently limited data available on alcohol and other drug use in the CALD population in Australia.
Australia has a large culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) population. As of June 2016, 26% of Australia’s population were born overseas and this has been increasing over the past 10 years [1]. In 2016, there were over 300 separately identified languages spoken in Australian homes and 21% of Australians spoke a language other than English [1]. For the purposes of this report, people from CALD backgrounds refers to people whose main language spoken at home is not English (for more information refer to Box CALD1).
Some people from CALD backgrounds are more vulnerable to alcohol and other drug use due to a history of torture, trauma, grief and loss. This can also be exacerbated by family stressors, unemployment, language barriers, lack of awareness of culturally appropriate services available [2].
Box CALD1: Alcohol and other drug data in CALD populations
There is a lack of publicly available and comprehensive data examining the use of alcohol and other drugs by people from CALD backgrounds. The AIHW’s National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) is one of the only national data sources that specifically disaggregates alcohol and other drug use by main language spoken at home. CALD data from the NDSHS refers to persons who indicated that English was not the main language spoken at home.
The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services (AODTS) National Minimum Dataset also collects CALD data, however this is based on information on clients country of birth, instead of main language spoken at home. Most (87%) of treatment episodes were provided to clients who were born in Australia.
Data from the NDSHS indicates that people from CALD backgrounds are less likely to consume alcohol and other drugs compared with those whose main language spoken at home is English [3].
Tobacco smoking
While there has been a statistically significant increase between 2013 and 2016 in the proportion of people across Australia reporting never smoking, the proportion of 'never smokers' is greater for people from CALD backgrounds (82.6%) compared with primary English speakers (59.5%) (Table S3.53).
Between 2013 and 2016 there was a significant reduction in the proportion of people from CALD backgrounds reporting daily smoking from 11.3% to 5.9%, while those from English speaking backgrounds remained stable at 12.8% (Figure CALD1).
Of current smokers, people from CALD backgrounds smoked on average a fewer number of cigarettes per week compared with primary English speakers (66.4 compared to 95.4). There has also been a statistically significant reduction in the mean number of cigarettes smoked by people from CALD backgrounds (Table S3.53).