Survey reveals Australians’ drinking habits

A survey has revealed most Australians predominantly drink alcohol at their homes rather than pubs, bars or other venues.

The Annual Alcohol Poll 2020: Behaviours and Attitudes was conducted in January and February, before lockdown restrictions being introduced in Australia.

It found almost three-quarters of people (73 per cent) who drink alcohol in Australia most frequently do so from their home.

The poll was conducted by YouGov Galaxy, for the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE).

FARE chief executive officer Caterina Giorgi said the trend of primarily consuming alcohol from home is prevalent across all demographics.

“Despite what many of us assume, people who drink alcohol are more likely to do so at home – and this is true even before the lockdown measures. This is the case whether people are younger or older, women or men, or living in major cities or regional areas.”

Ms Giorgi said this challenges people’s preconceptions of the effects of alcohol consumption.

“Drinking in the home is widespread, yet we don’t often think about the harms from alcohol occurring in the home because they’re largely invisible,” she said.

“Alcohol increases the severity and frequency of family violence and contributes to a range of cancers and alcohol dependence. These harms have significant negative impacts on children, families and whole communities.”

The poll also examined behaviours in people ordering alcohol online.

It reported 23 per cent of respondents had alcohol delivered at least weekly and 44 per cent had alcohol delivered within two hours of ordering.

Ms Giorgi said the ease of access to alcohol was problematic.

“Retailers are pushing alcohol into homes at all hours, with delivery as soon as 30-minutes. These practices are contributing to riskier alcohol use, and common sense measures such as introducing a two-hour delay between online orders and delivery, are needed to prevent harm.”

Of those who had alcohol delivered within two hours of ordering, 70 per cent drank more than four standard drinks on the day the alcohol was delivered and 38 per cent consumed at least 11 standard drinks.

More than a third of people who purchased alcohol online also reported retailers not routinely checking their ID.

Ms Giorgi said regulations should be installed to stop this.

“Everyone selling alcohol should be required to check IDs because no-one should be able to sell alcohol to children, which is illegal in pubs, clubs and bottle shops,” she said.

“But there’s a gaping hole in our laws around online alcohol sales where there is zero requirement for ID checks. This loophole needs to be closed to keep our children, families and communities safe.”

For more information head to fare.org.au.