Health impact
Deaths
Alcohol-induced deaths are defined as those that can be directly attributed to alcohol use, as determined by toxicology and pathology reports (ABS 2018a).
In 2017, the alcohol-induced death rate was 5.1 per 100,000 population (1,366 deaths) and it has remained stable since a low of 4.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2012. In 2017, alcohol was mentioned as a contributory cause in an additional 2,820 deaths. This demonstrates that people were twice as likely to have alcohol certified at death as a contributory factor rather than to have died from an alcohol-induced death (ABS 2018a).
Burden of disease
Alcohol was the fifth-highest risk factor contributing to disease burden in Australia in 2015. Alcohol use was estimated to be responsible for 4.5% of the total burden of disease and injury, based on estimates from the Australian Burden of Disease Study 2015.
For adolescents and young adults, non-fatal burden was the main contributor to alcohol attributed burden, while for those aged 55 and over fatal burden was the main contributor.
The burden from alcohol disorders was higher in males (2.0%) than females, ranking 13th in total male burden and outside the top 20 for females. Alcohol use was the leading risk factor contributing to disease burden for males aged 15–24 (13%) and 25–44 (12%) (AIHW 2019a). See Burden of disease.
Hospitalisations
The number of hospitalisations in Australia with a drug-related principal diagnosis of alcohol use increased from 64,200 hospitalisations in 2013–14 to 72,300 in 2017–18 (or from 275.8 to 291.9 hospitalisations per 100,000 population). As a proportion this equates to a decline from 55% of drug-related hospitalisations in 2013–14 to 53% in 2017–18 (AIHW 2019b). The decrease in proportion of alcohol-related hospitalisations is due to an increase in non-alcohol drug-related hospitalisations in 2017–18.
See Illicit drug use for information on drug-related hospitalisations where alcohol was not the drug.
Treatment
The number of closed treatment episodes provided in publicly funded alcohol and other drug treatment agencies across Australia for a person’s own drug use (where alcohol was the principal drug of concern) fell between 2012–13 and 2016–17 (from 63,800 to 62,400) but increased between 2017–18 and 2018–19 (from 70,900 to 74,700). As a proportion this equates to a decline from 41% of total episodes of treatment in 2012–13 to 36% in 2018–19 (AIHW 2020a). See Alcohol and other drug treatment services.
Alcohol misuse was estimated to cost Australia around $14 billion in 2010 ($6.0 billion in lost productivity), followed by traffic accidents ($3.7 billion), the criminal justice system ($2.9 billion) and costs to the health system ($1.7 billion) (Manning et al. 2013). However, these costs do not include the negative impacts on others associated with someone else’s drinking (such as violence, poor productivity, disturbing the peace), estimated at $6.8 billion in 2008 (Laslett et al. 2010).
For more information on alcohol risk and harm, see:
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References
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) 2018a. Causes of death, Australia, 2017. ABS cat. no. 3303.0. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2018b. National Health Survey: First Results, 2014–15. ABS cat. no. 4364.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2019a. Apparent consumption of alcohol, Australia, 2017–18. ABS cat. no. 4307.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2019b. National Health Survey: First Results, 2017–18. ABS cat. no. 4364.0.55.001. Canberra: ABS.
ABS 2019c. National Health Survey, 2017–18. Customised report. Canberra: ABS.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) 2017. National drug strategy household survey 2016: Detailed findings. Drug statistics series no. 31. Cat. no. PHE 214. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2019a. Australian Burden of Disease Study: impact and causes of illness and death in Australia 2015. Cat. no. BOD 22. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2019b. Alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in Australia report. Web Report. Cat no. PHE 221. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2020a. Alcohol and other drug treatment services in Australia 2018–19. Web report. Cat. No. HSE 243. Canberra: AIHW.
AIHW 2020b. National drug strategy household survey 2019. Drug statistics series no. 32. Cat. no. PHE 270. Canberra: AIHW.
Laslett A, Catalano P, Chikritzhs T, Dale C, Doran C, Ferris J et al. 2010. The range and magnitude of alcohol’s harm to others. Fitzroy, Victoria: AER Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Eastern Health.
Manning M, Smith C & Mazerolle P 2013. The societal costs of alcohol misuse in Australia. Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 454. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology.
NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) 2009. Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks from Drinking Alcohol. Canberra: NHMRC.