Alcohol consumption
In 2018–19, about 30% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 and over had not consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months or had never consumed alcohol – 27% in non-remote areas and 41% in remote areas (ABS 2019). The proportion of the Indigenous population who had abstained from alcohol was higher than in the non-Indigenous population.
In 2018–19, 50% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 years and over reported drinking alcohol at levels exceeding the single occasion risk guideline (more than 4 drinks) at least once in the two weeks prior to the survey. This was a decrease of 4 percentage points since 2012–13 (54%).
The proportion of Indigenous Australians aged 18 and over who exceeded the single occasion risk guideline generally decreased with age from 65% of those aged 18–24 to 35% of those aged 55 and over (Figure 5.11). Among those aged 15–17, 18% reported drinking at levels that exceeded the single occasion risk guidelines,
In 2018–19, 18% of Indigenous Australians aged 15 years and over drank at levels that exceeded the NHMRC lifetime risk guidelines that were current at the time the survey was conducted (no more than 2 standard drinks per day on average). A higher proportion of Indigenous males (28%) exceeded the guidelines than Indigenous females (10%) (Figure 5.11).
Figure 5.11: Risky alcohol consumption among Indigenous adults, 2018–19
Source: Measure 2.16, Table D2.16.19 – AIHW and ABS analysis of 2018–19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey; Table D2.16.20 – AIHW and ABS analysis of 2018–19 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey.
In 2014–15, about 1 in 20 (5.9%) Indigenous Australians aged 15 and over in non-remote areas, and 1 in 10 (8.9%) in remote areas, said alcohol-related problems had been a personal stressor for them in the previous 12 months.
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