Apparent alcohol consumption

Published

07 Sep, 2018

Alcohol is a known carcinogen for humans, increasing the risk of oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, oesophageal, liver, colorectal and (female) breast cancers.^1-3 There is also evidence that the risk of developing these cancers increases with higher levels of alcohol consumption (i.e., that there is a dose-response relationship).^{4, 5} Notably, even small amounts of alcohol can increase cancer risk. In addition, the joint effect of alcohol consumption and behavioural risk factors such as smoking and poor dietary practices further increases risk of cancers. ^{1, 3, 6}

Summary

Apparent alcohol consumption in Australia peaked in 1974-75Apparent alcohol consumption peaked in Australia in 1974-75 at annual per capita consumption of 13.1 litres. In 2016-17, apparent annual per capita consumption was around 28% lower than in 1974-75 (9.7 litres per capita).

Since 2006-07, apparent alcohol consumption has decreased overallAn overall decrease in apparent alcohol consumption was observed from 2006-07 (10.8 litres per capita) to 2016-17 (9.4 litres per capita). 

Australia’s annual alcohol consumption is relatively high compared to other developed countriesThe most recent data showed that among 18 selected developed countries, annual alcohol consumption was in the range of 6 to 12 litres per capita. Australian annual alcohol consumption was sixth-highest among the selected countries at 9.7 litres capita.

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Notes

• Data sourced from ABS - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, 2016-17 and OECD.Stat Health Statistics website. Australian data are based on financial year.
• The apparent alcohol consumption rate refers to litres per capita of pure alcohol available for consumption from beer, wine, spirits, ready-to-drink beverages, and cider.
• The most recent year of data was 2016 for every country except for: New Zealand (2017), Norway (2017), and the United States (2015)
• Data are for persons aged 15 years and over.
• More information on the data sources and the scope of these data can be found in the ‘About the Data’ tab

Apparent alcohol consumption per capita in selected countries, most recent year of data availability
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Notes

• Data sourced from ABS - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, 2016-17 and OECD.Stat Health Statistics website. Australian data are based on financial year.
• The apparent alcohol consumption rate refers to litres per capita of pure alcohol available for consumption from beer, wine, spirits, ready-to-drink beverages, and cider.
• Data are for persons aged 15 years and over.
• More information on the data sources and the scope of these data can be found in the ‘About the Data’ tab

Apparent alcohol consumption per capita in Australia and selected countries over time
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Notes

• Data sourced from ABS - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, 2016-17 and OECD.Stat Health Statistics website. Australian data are based on financial year.
• The apparent alcohol consumption rate refers to litres per capita of pure alcohol available for consumption from beer, wine, spirits, ready-to-drink beverages, and cider.
• The most recent year of data was 2016 for every country except for: New Zealand (2017), Norway (2017), and the United States (2015)
• Data are for persons aged 15 years and over.
• More information on the data sources and the scope of these data can be found in the ‘About the Data’ tab

Apparent alcohol consumption per capita in selected countries, 1975 and most recent year of data availability

About this measure

In 2010, it was estimated that alcohol-attributable cancer was responsible for about 4.2 percent of all global cancer deaths, and 4.6 percent of all potential ‘Years-of-Life-Lost’ as a result of cancer.⁷ It has also been estimated that between three to six percent of all cancer cases in Australia are attributable to consumption of alcohol.^{6, 8} On this basis, given the incidence of cancer in 2010 (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) was 119,212 cases, up to 7,153 cancer diagnoses could be attributed to the consumption of alcohol.

Apparent annual alcohol consumption data is collected in many countries and allows for a comparison of Australian and international trends in alcohol consumption. Apparent annual per capita (i.e. per person per year) alcohol consumption is estimated from the total volume of pure alcohol available for consumption in Australia each year, divided by total population numbers for people aged 15 years and over.⁹ This measure is included in the NCCI Framework as it provides a broad picture of alcohol consumption at a population level. In particular, apparent consumption data have been collected in Australia since 1960-61, meaning this measure is valuable as a cancer control indicator for assessing time trends in alcohol consumption.

Current status

In 2016-17, the apparent annual consumption of alcohol in Australia was 9.4 litres per capita.⁹

Australia has a relatively high apparent annual alcohol consumption rate per capita compared to other developed countries. In the most recent year for which data are available, the range of apparent annual consumption rates among selected developed countries was 6.0–11.7 litres per capita.¹⁰

Trends

Data on apparent alcohol consumption data have been regularly collected in Australia since 1960-61, providing long-term time-trend data of consumption at a population level. Per capita consumption increased throughout the 1960s, and peaked in the mid-1970s when the annual consumption rate was 13.1 litres per capita. Since that time, average annual alcohol consumption has declined by approximately 38%, to around 9.4 litres per capita. Most of this decline occurred in the 1980s, concomitant with a marked decrease in the consumption of beer.⁹ Since 2006-07, there has been an overall decrease in the apparent alcohol consumption rate from 10.8 to 9.4 litres per capita.

The range in apparent alcohol consumption rates among selected developed countries is generally much smaller today than it was in the 1970s, with the average adult in each country consuming between 6 and 12 litres per person per year.¹⁰

About the data

Unit of analysis:

Apparent per capita alcohol consumption is estimated from the total volume of pure alcohol available for consumption in Australia each year, divided by the total population aged 15 years and over. Data are available at the national level only.

Numerator: Pure alcohol available for consumption from beer, wine, spirits, ready-to-drink beverages, and cider, in litres.

Denominator: Total population aged 15 years and over.

Derivations from this definition: Estimates for pure alcohol available in the form of cider is derived indirectly using survey consumption data.

For this measure, the most recent year for data available for each country is as follows:

Australia	2016	Japan	2016
Canada	2016	Korea	2016
Chile	2016	Netherlands	2016
Denmark	2016	New Zealand	2017
Finland	2016	Norway	2017
France	2016	Spain	2016
Germany	2016	Sweden	2016
Ireland	2016	United Kingdom	2016
Italy	2016	United States	2015

Data sources:

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018. 4307.0.55.001 - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2016-17. Canberra: ABS. (http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4307.0.55.001Main+Features12016-17?OpenDocument)
OECD Health Statistics 2017 Online Database: OECD.Stat. (https://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_STAT)

Data Caveats:

Apparent alcohol consumption is an estimate only, and does not represent actual consumption.
In Australia, there have been a number of changes in the methodology used to calculate these estimates from 2013-14 to 2016-17, and comparisons between these years should be interpreted with caution. Please refer to the explanatory notes in the data sources for further information.
The methodology used internationally for this measure is largely comparable, although caution should still be applied when making comparisons due to the complexity of the calculations, with the weightings applied for alcohol by volume varying between countries.

Methodology:

Estimates of apparent consumption are derived in Australia using information related to data source (e.g. domestic sales of Australian produced wine, excise data on alcohol produced for domestic consumption, data on imports and an estimated component for home-based production). Weightings for alcohol by volume are estimated for the different beverage types.

References

Activity in this area:

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018. 4307.0.55.001 - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2016-17. Canberra: ABS.

National Alcohol Strategy 2016-2021.(http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-drugs-alcohol-index.htm)

References:

1. Cancer Australia 2015. Position Statement: Lifestyle risk factors and the primary prevention of cancer. [cited 2016 September]; Available from: <http://canceraustralia.gov.au/publications-and-resources/position-statements/lifestyle-risk-factors-and-primary-prevention-cancer.>.

2. World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research 2007. Food, nutrition, physical activity, and the prevention of cancer: a global perspective. Washington, DC: American Institute for Cancer Research.

3. International Agency for Research on Cancer 2012. Personal Habits and Indoor Combustions, in IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. IARC: Lyon.

4. Bagnardi, V., Rota, M., Botteri, E., Tramacere, I., Islami, F., Fedirko, V., Scotti, L., Jenab, M., Turati, F., Pasquali, E., Pelucchi, C., Galeone, C., Bellocco, R., Negri, E., Corrao, G., Boffetta, P., and La Vecchia, C. 2015. Alcohol consumption and site-specific cancer risk: a comprehensive dose-response meta-analysis. Br J Cancer, 112(3): p. 580-593.

5. Schutze, M., Boeing, H., Pischon, T., Rehm, J., Kehoe, T., Gmel, G., Olsen, A., Tjonneland, A.M., Dahm, C.C., Overvad, K., Clavel-Chapelon, F., Boutron-Ruault, M.C., Trichopoulou, A., Benetou, V., Zylis, D., Kaaks, R., Rohrmann, S., Palli, D., Berrino, F., Tumino, R., Vineis, P., Rodriguez, L., Agudo, A., Sanchez, M.J., Dorronsoro, M., Chirlaque, M.D., Barricarte, A., Peeters, P.H., van Gils, C.H., Khaw, K.T., Wareham, N., Allen, N.E., Key, T.J., Boffetta, P., Slimani, N., Jenab, M., Romaguera, D., Wark, P.A., Riboli, E., and Bergmann, M.M. 2011. Alcohol attributable burden of incidence of cancer in eight European countries based on results from prospective cohort study. BMJ, 342: p. d1584.

6. Pandeya, N., Wilson, L.F., Webb, P.M., Neale, R.E., Bain, C.J., and Whiteman, D.C. 2015. Cancers in Australia in 2010 attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Aust N Z J Public Health, 39(5): p. 408-413.

7. Rehm, K. and Shield, K.D. 2013. Alcohol and mortality: Global alcohol-attributable deaths from cancer, liver cirrhosis, and injury in 2010. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 35(2): p. 174-183.

8. Winstanley, M.H., Pratt, I.S., Chapman, K., Griffin, H.J., Croager, E.J., Olver, I.N., Sinclair, C., and Slevin, T.J. 2011. Alcohol and cancer: a position statement from Cancer Council Australia. Med J Aust, 194(9): p. 479-482.

9. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018. Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2016-17. ABS: Canberra.

10. OECD.Stat. 2018. Health Status. [cited 2018 September ]; Available from: <http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_STAT#>.

Revision Type

Minor

Version Number

1.22

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Summary

Apparent alcohol consumption in Australia peaked in 1974-75

Since 2006-07, apparent alcohol consumption has decreased overall

Australia’s annual alcohol consumption is relatively high compared to other developed countries

Data