 |
|
 |
Research has conclusively shown that hazardous and harmful alcohol
use in Australia results in high economic and social costs to
the community.
- Between 1991/92 and 2000/01, Western Australia was the
only state to indicate an overall increase in adult per
capita alcohol consumption.²
- In 2000/01 WA adults (every person over 15 years-of-age)
consumed an average of 11.12 litres of alcohol, second only
to the Northern Terriority.²
- Non-metropolitan areas of Australia have higher relative
rates of hospitalisation for injuries and disease caused
by risky and high-risk drinking, than metropolitan areas.¹
- In 2001, alcohol was responsible for a total of 8,196
hospital admissions and 43, 238 bed days.&sup5; The total cost
of this hospitalisation was over $30 million dollars.³
- report that up to 80 per cent of their work, including
drink driving, property crime, assaults and domestic violence,
is alcohol and drug-related.²
- The number of alcohol-related assaults in Western Australia
increased by 52 per cent over the 7 years from 1991/92 to
1997/98.³
- Along with economic costs, the personal impact that excessive
alcohol use has within the community is also significant.
For example, the number of alcohol-related assaults markedly
increased by 52.1% between 1990/91 to 1998/99, from 7,684,
to 11,688.4
- The 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS)
found that a small proportion (1.3%) of Western Australians
aged 14 years and over reported to have physically abused
someone while under the influence of alcohol in the past
12 months. Males (1.8%) were more likely than females (0.8%)
to have physically abused someone.4
- Seven per cent of Western Australians aged 14 years and
over reported verbally abusing someone while under the influence
of alcohol in the past 12 months. Males (8.3%) were more
likely than females (5.8%) to report this. 4
- Nearly three per cent (2.7%) of Western Australians aged
14 years and over reported causing damage to property while
under the influence of alcohol in the past 12 months. Males
(3.9%) were more than twice as likely as females (1.5%)
to report this.³
- Nearly one in twenty-five (3.6%) Western Australians
aged 14 years and over reported creating a public disturbance
while under the influence of alcohol in the past 12 months.
Males (4.6%) were more likely than females (2.6%) to report
this.4
Table 1 shows that Western Australians aged 14 years and over
were more likely to have been perpetrators of alcohol-related
harms, particularly property damage and creating a public disturbance,
while under the influence of alcohol in the past 12 months compared
to the national average.
Table 1: Activities
undertaken while under the influence of alcohol in the past
12 months by persons aged 14 years and over, by sex, Australia
vs Western Australia, 2001 (NDSHS 2001)
| |
Australia |
Western
Australia |
| Activity |
Male% |
Female% |
Male% |
Female% |
| Physical abuse |
1.8 |
0.6 |
1.8 |
0.8 |
| Verbal abuse |
8.4 |
4.3 |
8.3 |
5.8 |
| Damaged property |
2.7 |
0.9 |
3.9 |
1.5 |
| Created public disturbance |
4.1 |
1.8 |
4.6 |
2.6 |
- In 2001, over one quarter (28.1%) of Western Australians
aged 14 years and over had been victims of alcohol-related
verbal abuse in the past 12 months. Males (30.8%) were more
likely than females (25.4%) to be verbally abused4
- One in twenty (5.4%) Western Australians aged 14 years
and over had been victims of alcohol-related physical abuse
in the past 12 months. Males (6.3%) were more likely than
females (4.5%) to be physically abused.4
- More than one in seven (14.8%) Western Australians aged
14 years and over had been put in fear by a person under
the influence of alcohol in the past 12 months. Females
(17.6%) were more likely than males (11.9%) to report this.4
Table 2 shows that in 2001, there was a disproportionate number
of Western Australians aged 14 years-and-over who were victims
of alcohol-related incidents.
Table 2: Proportion of the population aged 14 years and over
who have been victims of alcohol-related incidents in the past
12 months, by sex, Australia vs Western Australia, 2001 (NDSHS
2001)
| |
Australia |
Western
Australia |
| Activity |
Male% |
Female% |
Male% |
Female% |
| Physical abuse |
5.8 |
3.9 |
6.3 |
4.5 |
| Verbal abuse |
29.2 |
23.8 |
30.8 |
25.4 |
| Put in fear |
11.8 |
15.6 |
11.9 |
17.6 |
References
1. - National Drug Research Institute (2003). Patterns of
alcohol use and related harms for Australian states and territories,
1990 – 2001. The Australian Alcohol Indicators, 1990-2001.
2. - Western Australian Service (2003). Western Australian
Service Agency Drug and Alcohol Plans 2003 - 2005.
Perth: Western Australian Service.
3. - Drug and Alcohol Office (2003). Indicators of Drug Use:
Western Australia. Perth: Drug and Alcohol Office.
4. - Drug and Alcohol Office (2003). 2001 National Drug Strategy
Household Survey - first results for Western Australia.
5. - Unwin E, Codde JP, Bartu A (2004). The impact of alcohol
on the health of Western Australians. Epidemiology Occasional
Paper 19, ISSN: 1329-7252. Perth: Drug and Alcohol Office
and Epidemiology Branch, Health Information Centre, Department
of Health.
6. - Donnolly N, Briscoe S (2001). Temporal and Regional Aspects
of Alcohol-Related Violence and Disorder, Alcohol Studies
Bulletin Number 1, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
and the National Drug Research Institute of Curtin University.
*Hazardous alcohol use:
A pattern of use that increases the risk of harmful consequences
for the user. In contrast to harmful use, hazardous use refers
to patterns of use that are of public health significance
despite the absence of any current disorder in the individual
user. Put simply, hazardous means it is more likely the drinker
will experience harm.
*Harmful alcohol use:
A pattern of use that is causing damage to health, which may
be physical (e.g. liver cirrhosis, cancer) or mental (e.g.
depressive episodes related to heavy alcohol intake) and typically
occurs over the medium to long term. Harmful use commonly,
but not in all cases, has negative social consequences. Put
simply, harmful use means the drinker is already experiencing
harm.
|
