Australians consuming less tobacco and alcohol, more marijuana
19 June 2001
A new report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has shown that while Australians are drinking less alcohol and smoking fewer cigarettes than they were 10 years ago, the use of marijuana is on the rise.
Statistics on Drug Use in Australia 2000 reveals that Australians consumed 7.6 litres of pure alcohol per person in 1998, ranking us 19th in the world for per capita alcohol consumption. The country with the highest alcohol consumption was Luxembourg, with 13.3 litres of pure alcohol per person.
Australians ranked 9th in the world for per capita beer consumption, at 95 litres per person, with the Czech Republic coming in on top at 162 litres per person.
The report revealed that Australians have fallen from 10th place in 1986 to 17th in 1996 for annual per capita consumption of cigarettes, equating to a drop from 2,710 to 2,017 cigarettes annually for each Australian aged 15 years and over. It also found that one-third of smokers in Australia unsuccessfully tried to kick the habit in 1998.
More Australians are smoking marijuana than before, with 39 per cent saying that they have tried the drug, up from 33 per cent in 1991. 18 per cent of Australians have used marijuana in the past 12 months.
Nearly half of all Australians aged 14 and over have used illicit substances at least once in their lives, with 23 per cent having used an illicit drug in the past year.
The report also revealed that more than 19,000 deaths in 1998–99 were attributable to tobacco, while more than 1,000 deaths were related to illicit drug use.
According to report co-author Megge Miller, most Australians do not approve of the regular use or the legalisation of illicit drugs, although about one-quarter think that regular marijuana use is acceptable.
Last Reviewed: 25 June 2001
