Apparent alcohol consumption

Published

20 Sep, 2022

Alcohol is a known human carcinogen for humans that increases the risk of oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, oesophageal, liver, colorectal and (female) breast cancers.^{1, 2} There is also evidence that risk of developing these cancers increases with higher levels of alcohol consumption (i.e., that there is a dose-response relationship).^{1, 3, 4} 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 the risk of cancer.

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Notes

• Data sourced from ABS - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, 2017-18 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 2019 for every country except for: Ireland (2020), New Zealand (2020), Canada (2020), Norway (2020), and Australia (2018)
• 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
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Notes

• The most recent year of data was 2019 for every country except for: Ireland (2020), New Zealand (2020), Canada (2020), Norway (2020), and Australia (2018)
• Data sourced from ABS - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, 2017-18 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, 2017-18 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 2019 for every country except for: Ireland (2020), New Zealand (2020), Canada (2020), Norway (2020), and Australia (2018)
• 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 cancers represented 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.⁶ It has also been estimated that between three to six percent of all cancer cases in Australia are attributable to consumption of alcohol.^{5, 7} On this basis, given that the numbers of newly diagnosed cancer in 2010 (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) was 119,212, up to 7,153 cancer diagnoses could be attributed to the consumption of alcohol.

Apparent annual alcohol consumption data are collected in many countries and allow for a comparison of Australian and international trends in consumption. Apparent annual per capita (i.e., per person per year) alcohol consumption in Australia is estimated from the total volume of pure alcohol available for consumption each year, divided by the total population number for people aged 15 years and over.⁸ Data for this measure have been collected in Australia since 1960-61and its inclusion in the NCCI Framework enables the assessment of alcohol consumption at a population level over time.

Current status

In 2017-18, the apparent annual consumption of alcohol in Australia was 9.5 litres per capita.⁸

Australia has a relatively high apparent annual alcohol consumption rate per capita compared with 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.⁹

Trends

Data on apparent alcohol consumption data have been regularly collected in Australia since 1960-61, providing trend data over a long time. These data indicate that 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 27.5%, to around 9.5 litres per capita. Most of this decline occurred in the 1980s, concomitant with a marked decrease in consumption of beer.⁸ Since 2006-07, there has been an overall decrease in the apparent alcohol consumption rate from 10.8 to 9.5 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.⁹

About the data

Unit of analysis

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

Numerator: The volume of pure alcohol available for consumption is derived from estimates for 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.

The most recent year for data availablity for each country is as follows:

Australia	2017	Japan	2019
Canada	2020	Korea	2019
Chile	2019	Netherlands	2019
Denmark	2019	New Zealand	2020
Finland	2019	Norway	2020
France	2019	Spain	2019
Germany	2019	Sweden	2019
Ireland	2020	United Kingdom	2019
Italy	2019	United States	2019

References

Activity in this area

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2019. 4307.0.55.001 - Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2017-18. Canberra: ABS.

National Alcohol Strategy 2019-2028. https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-alcohol-strategy-2019-2028

References

Cancer Australia 2015. Position Statement: Lifestyle risk factors and the primary prevention of cancer. [cited 2020 February]; Available from: http://canceraustralia.gov.au/publications-and-resources/position-statements/lifestyle-risk-factors-and-primary-prevention-cancer
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Australian Burden of Disease Study 2015: Interactive data on risk factor burden. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/burden-of-disease interactive-data-risk-factor-burden
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. 580-593.4.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2019. Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2017-18. ABS: Canberra.
OECD.Stat. 2019. Health Status. [cited 2020 April]; Available from: http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_STAT#

Summary

Apparent alcohol consumption in Australia peaked in 1974-76Apparent alcohol consumption peaked in Australia in 1974-76 with an annual per capita consumption of 13.1 litres. In 2017-18, apparent annual per capita consumption was around 27.5% lower than in 1974-75 (at 9.75 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 2017-18 (9.5 litres per capita). 

Australia’s annual alcohol consumption is relatively high compared to other developed countriesThe most recent data by country for 18 selected developed countries, indicated that annual alcohol consumption was in the range of 6 to 12 litres per capita. Australian annual alcohol consumption was fifth highest among the selected countries at 9.5 litres capita.

Revision Type

Minor

Version Number

1.22

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Data

Summary

Apparent alcohol consumption in Australia peaked in 1974-76

Since 2006-07, apparent alcohol consumption has decreased overall

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