- Data has indicated Australians as young 15 are drinking 10 litres of booze a year
- For the first time in nine years alcohol consumption across the country has risen
- ABS director Louise Gates said the data reflected the rising popularity of beer
New data has indicated Australian’s as young as 15 are drinking an average of almost 10 litres of alcohol each year.
Information released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed an average person 15 years and over consumed drinks that contained around 9.7 litres of alcohol between 2015 and 2016.
For the first time in nine years alcohol consumption across the country has risen as beer intake increased from a 70-year low.
New data has indicated Australian’s as young as 15 are drinking an average of almost 10 litres of alcohol each year
ABS director Louise Gates said the statistics reflected the increasing popularity of beer.
During the period data showed there was 75.4 million litres of beer on the market which was a 4.5 per cent rise from the previous year.
‘In 2015-16, beer represented 40 per cent of all pure alcohol available for consumption, a slight increase from 39 per cent in 2014-15, although still a decrease over recent decades from 45 per cent in 2005-06 and 54 per cent in 1995-96.’
Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education chief executive Michael Thorn said the data is a ‘disappointing outcome’ because of the downward trend in recent years, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
‘It reflects industry’s failure to acknowledge there is in fact a problem, and the absence of a government strategy to tackle Australia’s problem with booze.’
‘The fact is, more than 1.9 million Australians continue to drink on average more than six standard drinks per day.’
For the first time in nine years alcohol consumption across the country has risen as beer intake increased from a 70-year low (stock picture)