Apparent alcohol consumption

Published

22 Nov, 2017

Alcohol is a known carcinogen for humans, increasing the risk of oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, oesophageal, liver, colorectal and (female) breast cancers.^1-3There is also evidence that the risk of developing these cancers increases with higher levels of alcohol consumption (i.e. 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 2015-16, apparent annual per capita consumption was about 25% lower than in 1974-75 (9.7 litres).

In 2015-16, apparent alcohol consumption increasedA steady decrease in apparent alcohol consumption was observed from 2006-07 (10.8 litres per capita) to 2014-15 (9.5 litres). In 2015-16, annual consumption increased to 9.7 litres.

Australia’s annual alcohol consumption is high compared with other developed countriesAustralia’s annual alcohol consumption was fourth-highest (at 9.7 litres per capita) among 18 selected developed countries.

Data

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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, 2015-16 and OECD.Stat Health Statistics website, Australian data is based on financial year.
• Data from 2015 for all other countries except for New Zealand and Norway (2016); Chile, Germany, Italy, and United States (2014); Denmark and Spain (2013).
• Persons aged 15 years and over.

Apparent alcohol consumption per capita in selected countries, most recent year of data availability
Apparent alcohol consumption: annual alcohol consumption per capita in Australia and selected countries over time
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Notes

• Data sourced from ABS - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, 2015-16 and OECD.Stat Health Statistics website.
• Persons aged 15 years and over.

Apparent alcohol consumption per capita in Australia and selected countries over time
Apparent alcohol consumption per capita in selected countries, 1975 and most recent year of data availability
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Data Table

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Notes

• Data sourced from ABS - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, 2015-16 and OECD.Stat Health Statistics website. Data for Australia is based on financial year.
• Data from 2015 for all other countries except for New Zealand and Norway (2016); Chile, Germany, Italy, and United States (2014); Denmark and Spain (2013).
• Persons aged 15 years and over.

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 2013 (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) was 124.465 cases, up to 7,468 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 data is included as a NCCI measure 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 2015-16, the apparent annual consumption of alcohol in Australia was 9.7 litres per capita.⁹Australia has a high apparent per capita alcohol consumption rate when compared to other developed countries. In the most recent year for which data are available, the range apparent annual consumption among selected developed countries was 6.0–11.9 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 average annual consumption was 13.1 litres of pure alcohol. Since that time, average annual alcohol consumption has declined by approximately 25%, to around 9.7 litres per capita. Most of this decline occurred in the 1980s, concomitant with a marked decrease in the consumption of beer.⁹ A steady decrease in alcohol consumption occurred from 2006-07 (10.8 litres) to 2014-15 (9.5 litres), however in 2015-16 consumption increased to 9.7 litres. This increase was mainly due to a rise in beer consumption for the first time in 9 years.⁹

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 most countries today consuming between 6 and 12 litres of pure alcohol per person per year.¹⁰

About the data

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.

Data sources:

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017. 4307.0.55.001 - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2015-16. Canberra: ABS.
OECD Health Statistics 2017 Online Database: OECD.Stat.

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.

Data Caveats:

Apparent alcohol consumption is an estimate only, and does not represent actual consumption.

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.

The most recent year for data available by country is as follows:

Australia	2015	Japan	2015
Canada	2015	Korea	2015
Chile	2014	Netherlands	2015
Denmark	2013	New Zealand	2016
Finland	2015	Norway	2016
France	2015	Spain	2013
Germany	2014	Sweden	2015
Ireland	2015	United Kingdom	2015
Italy	2014	United States	2014

References

Activity in this area:

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017. 4307.0.55.001 - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2015-16. Canberra: ABS.

References:

1. Cancer Australia. Lifestyle risk factors and the primary prevention of cancer. Sydney: Cancer Australia; 2015. Available from: http://canceraustralia.gov.au/publications-and-resources/position-statem....

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

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

4. Bagnardi V, Rota M, Botteri E, Tramacere I, Islami F, Fedirko V, et al. Alcohol consumption and site-specific cancer risk: a comprehensive dose-response meta-analysis. British journal of cancer. 2015;112(3):580-93.

5. Schutze M, Boeing H, Pischon T, Rehm J, Kehoe T, Gmel G, et al. Alcohol attributable burden of incidence of cancer in eight European countries based on results from prospective cohort study. Bmj. 2011;342:d1584.

6. Pandeya N, Wilson LF, Webb PM, Neale RE, Bain CJ, Whiteman DC. Cancers in Australia in 2010 attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health. 2015;39(5):408-13.

7. Rehm K, Shield KD. Alcohol and mortality: Global alcohol-attributable deaths from cancer, liver cirrhosis, and injury in 2010. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews. 2013;35(2):174-83.

8. Winstanley MH, Pratt IS, Chapman K, Griffin HJ, Croager EJ, Olver IN, et al. Alcohol and cancer: a position statement from Cancer Council Australia. The Medical journal of Australia. 2011;194(9):479-82.

9. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Apparent consumption of alcohol, Australia, 2015-16. Canberra: ABS; 2017.

10. OECD Health Statistics 2017 Online Database: OECD.Stat. Accessed September 2017.

Revision Type

Minor

Version Number

1.22

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Summary

Apparent alcohol consumption in Australia peaked in 1974-75

In 2015-16, apparent alcohol consumption increased

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

Data

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

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

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