Alcohol and Other Harms
Alcohol is responsible for a considerable burden in terms of death, disease and injury in Australia. Drinking is a major factor in much of the injury resulting from road crashes and other accidents, and in social problems such as violence, family breakdown and child abuse and neglect. As such, alcohol-related harm is not restricted to individual drinkers but has relevance for families, bystanders and the broader community.
More than 85% of South Australians aged over 14 years consume alcohol and over 85% of South Australian school students aged 12-17 have tried alcohol. Research has consistently shown that harmful alcohol consumption results in significant economic and social costs to South Australian communities. These costs impact everyone in some way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What harm does alcohol consumption cause to our community?
In Australia:
- Alcohol misuse costs the Australian community $15.3 billion each year when factors such as loss of productivity and premature death are taken into account
- 51% of alcohol consumed is drunk at levels that pose a risk of short-term harm
- Over 3000 Australians die each year as a result of harmful drinking
- Over 450,000 children (13.2%) live in households where they are at risk of exposure to binge drinking by at least one adult
- $2.2 billion is associated with road crashes.
In South Australia:
- More than 466,000 South Australians aged over 14 years drank at harmful levels in the past 12 months
- Over 192,000 South Australians drink at harmful levels at least once a month
- Each week over 92,000 South Australians drink at harmful levels
- Over a quarter of students (27%) engaged in potentially harmful drinking behaviour in the last 2 weeks
- Each year 153,000 South Australians are threatened by people who have drunk too much
- Over 43,000 South Australians state that they have been physically abused by someone affected by alcohol in the past year
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* In addition to any specific links provided throughout this page, the information provided has also been sourced from:
- More than 324,000 South Australians report that they have been verbally abused by someone affected by alcohol in the past year
- Over 33% of households with children in South Australia think it is acceptable for people to get drunk in public on certain occasions
- In 2004-05, over 6750 hospitalisations in South Australia were attributable to alcohol
- In 2005, 280 deaths in South Australia were attributable to alcohol
- Almost 65% of all alcohol consumed in South Australia is consumed during risky or high risk drinking sessions.
Does alcohol cause harm to younger Australians?
- Approximately one-quarter of South Australian students (27%) aged 12-17 consumed alcohol last week
- There is direct evidence of a decline in the age of first consumption of alcohol and increased health harms being caused to younger Australians associated with alcohol
- Those who are engaging in problematic consumption are doing so in far more overt and harmful ways and at a younger age than was the case in the past
- In South Australia during the 2007-08 financial year, 3367 youths appeared before the courts. This figure increased to 4002 during the 2008-09 financial year- alcohol and other drugs were blamed as a major factor for the dramatic increase
- Each year approximately 264 Australians aged 15-24 die as a result of risky alcohol consumption and the most common causes of these are road crash injuries and suicides. This represents approximately 15% of all deaths in this age group
- Four Australians under the age of 25 die due to alcohol related injuries in an average week
- One in two Australians aged 15-17 who get drunk will do something they regret
- Approximately 10,000 hospitalisations among youths aged up to 25 annually are attributable to alcohol, the major cause of which is assault
- 70 Australians under age 25 will be hospitalised due to alcohol-caused assault in an average week
- On average, 1 in 4 hospitalisations of people aged 15-24 happen because of alcohol.
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What are the short and long term harms for youths who binge drink?
Drinking alcohol during the teenage years affects the brain differently from the way it affects adults, as the brain is still developing until approximately 20 years of age.
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What can I do to reduce the harm of alcohol when I drink?
There are a number of things that people can do to reduce risky alcohol consumption, including:
- use 'standard drink' information to know how much alcohol is in your drink so you are aware of the amount you are consuming and therefore know when you are at risk
- drink water to quench your thirst because alcohol makes you dehydrated
- drink slowly - take sips and not gulps. Put your glass down between sips but don't leave it unattended
- eat before or while you are drinking
- one drink at a time - do not let people top up your drinks
- pace yourself - try having a non-alcoholic 'spacer' every second or third drink
- stay busy - play pool or dance - don't just sit and drink
- be assertive - do not be pressured into drinking more than you want or intend to.
Does alcohol affect women differently from men?
Women are affected by alcohol differently to men, as they are more sensitive to alcohol. This is due to:
- women tending to have a smaller physical build than men, so alcohol is distributed over a smaller volume
- women tending to have more fatty tissue than men, and alcohol is not taken up by fatty tissue. As a result, the alcohol will be more concentrated in a woman's body, producing a higher BAC.
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Can women drink alcohol when they are pregnant and while they are breastfeeding?
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Does alcohol have the same effect on different people?
People react differently to alcohol due to a variety of reasons relating to the type of alcohol being consumed (amount, strength), the person drinking (sex, age, body weight, being on medication, state of mind) and the environment where drinking is taking place (time of day, being alone).
Which groups of people should take particular care when drinking alcohol?
There are a number of different groups of people who should take particular care when consuming alcohol, or even question whether they should consume alcohol at all. These groups include:
- people under the age of 18;
- pregnant women;
- women who are breastfeeding;
- people who have a family history of alcohol-related problems;
- people who are taking medication or are using other drugs; and
- people who suffer from medical conditions that will be affected by consuming alcohol, such as hepatitis C.
How does alcohol affect my driving?
Alcohol affects everyone differently. Even small quantities will affect your ability to drive safely to some degree. A small amount of alcohol in your system can slow your reaction times, impair your judgement, coordination, vision and hearing and make you feel over confident when in fact you would be less able to cope with unexpected events.
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How does drinking affect driving fatalities in South Australia?
SAPOL crash data for 2009 shows that:
- 35% of people who died had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05% or higher: most had BAC three times the legal limit
- 7% of drivers aged between 16 - 25 years who died had a BAC of 0.05% or higher
- Every 0.05% increase (BAC) above zero doubles the risk of crashing.
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Does alcohol intoxication impact the health system?
In 2004-05, 77.5% of people admitted to the emergency department at the Royal Adelaide Hospital who appeared intoxicated tested positive to alcohol or other drugs. Of these, 59% tested positive to alcohol.
In the year ending November 2009, there were 90 incidents of assault in the Adelaide CBD in which the weapon used was described as a bottle or a glass. These so-called 'glassings' can cause horrific and disfiguring injuries.
