Smoking, drinking and drugs = 228,400 in hospital
26 February 2001
An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report has said that about 228,400 hospital episodes each year are the result of Australians smoking, drinking or taking illicit drugs.
A hospital episode is defined as the actual stay in hospital and is measured at the end of each person’s stay.
The report, The quantification of drug-caused mortality in Australia, 1998, shows that in 1997-98, 142,500 hospital episodes were smoking related, 71,400 were alcohol related and 14,500 were a result of taking illicit drugs.
According to the report, more than half of the tobacco-related episodes occurred with Australians aged 65 years and over, with many of these the result of smoking at a much earlier age because of the time lag between exposure to tobacco smoke and onset of disease. In contrast, the report found that the 15-34 year age group contributed 75 per cent of hospitalisations involving illicit drugs.
A co-author of the report, Chris Stevenson, said that high alcohol consumption contributed to 71,400 hospital episodes, but 28,400 episodes were avoided among older people through moderate alcohol consumption.
‘So, while drinking at ages 65 and over was associated with a decrease of 4436 deaths [on the previous reporting period], the overall effect of alcohol consumption at ages below 65 caused about 2065 deaths—even when the effects of moderate consumption were included.
‘In the first instance, we are hoping that this report will provide support for the development of public policy in these areas and in a broader view, to encourage the wider Australian community to drink responsibly and to give up smoking.
‘Tobacco and alcohol related illnesses present a larger direct community health problem than illicit drugs. Although we do recognise the broader problems associated with illicit drugs in Australia.
‘We believe this report may go some way to mapping the size of the health burden associated with both legal and illegal drugs,’ said Mr Stevenson.
Other findings
- Most alcohol-related deaths among men are due to alcoholism and alcoholic liver disease. Alcohol-related cancer is the next highest cause.
- Most alcohol-related deaths in Australian women are from alcohol-related cancer. Breast cancer accounts for more than half of these deaths, while oesophageal and liver cancer account for 24 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
- Patterns of illicit drug-related deaths among men and women are similar. The largest proportion of these deaths is directly related to opiate dependence, abuse or poisoning (79 per cent for men, 69 per cent for women), followed by suicide (13 per cent for both men and women).
Last Reviewed: 02 March 2001
