General Statistics

Alcohol
In 2004, around 84% of the population aged 14 years and over had consumed at least one full serve of alcohol in the last 12 months with 8.9 percent drinking alcohol daily.

• The pattern of alcohol consumption by the Australian population has remained relatively unchanged over the period 1991 to 2004
• In 2004, around 77% of males and 71% of females aged 14 years and over consumed alcohol at levels at which there is minimal risk of long term alcohol related harm
• In the financial year of 2000-01, almost 65,000 hospital episodes and an estimated 3000 deaths were attributable to alcohol consumption
• In 2004, 26.6% of males and 22.2% aged 14-19 of females consumed alcohol on a weekly basis
• In 2004 15.1% of males and 18.8% of females aged 14-19 drank at least once a month at levels that placed them at risk of short term harm
• Between 1990 and 1997 in Australia 52% of all serious road alcohol related road injuries were sustained by young people aged 15 - 24 years (2001 Household Survey)

Sources:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2005). Statistics on drug use in Australia 2004. AIHW Cat. No. PHE 62. Canberra : AIHW (Drug Statistics Series No. 15).

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2002). 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: detailed findings. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare cat. no. PHE 41. Canberra : AIHW (Drug Statistics Series No.11).

Tobacco

• In 2004 the proportion of the Australian population aged 14 years and over who were daily smokers dropped from 24% in 1991 to 17% in 2004
• In 1998, tobacco smoking accounted for 142 500 hospital episodes and approximately 19 000 deaths in Australia due to direct smoking or environmental smoking
• In 2004, 17.4% of 14 - 19 year olds smoked tobacco daily
• Males are more likely than females to smoke daily
• In 2001 60.2% of male smokers and 74.7% of female smokers reported that all or most of their friends/acquaintances smoked

Sources:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2005). Statistics on drug use in Australia 2004. AIHW Cat. No. PHE 62. Canberra : AIHW (Drug Statistics Series No. 15).

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2002). 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: detailed findings. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare cat. no. PHE 41. Canberra : AIHW (Drug Statistics Series No.11).

Illicit and Over the Counter Drugs

• More than one quarter (25.5%) of teenagers aged 14 - 19 years had used marijuana/cannabis in their lifetime
• In 2004, over six million people in Australia (38.1%) aged 14 years and over had used any illicit drug at least once in their lifetime and 15% had used any illicit drug at least once in the previous 12 months
• In 1998, approximately 1,000 deaths and 14,500 hospital episodes in Australia were attributable to the use of illicit
• In 2004, 29.3% of 14 - 19 year olds had used an illicit drug in their lifetime
• In 2004, 17.9% of young people aged 14-19 had used cannabis in the last 12 months
• In 2004, illicit drug use was more likely to occur in the 20-29 year group than any other age group
• In a 2002 survey of Australian secondary school students aged 12 - 17, 13.2% of males and 9.7% of females had used cannabis in the month prior to the survey
• In a 2002 survey of Australian secondary school students, over 90% had ever used pain-killers/analgesics and some time in their lives

Sources:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2005). Statistics on drug use in Australia 2004. AIHW Cat. No. PHE 62. Canberra : AIHW (Drug Statistics Series No. 15).

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2002). 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: detailed findings. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare cat. no. PHE 41. Canberra : AIHW (Drug Statistics Series No.11).