Australians are drinking 25 per cent less alcohol than they were 40 years ago, but it’s causing more harm than ever, a new study says.
In 2010, when the most recent figures were recorded, alcohol misuse was estimated to be responsible for 5500 deaths and 160,000 admissions to hospital a year as well as costing an estimated $36 billion annually.
The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education have released a report arguing not enough is being done to curb alcohol-related social damage.
The number of deaths had risen by 62 per cent from 2000 to 2010.
This might have been avoided if recommendations made in a 1977 Senate Committee report had not been ignored, a study by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), released on Wednesday, found.