Current Data Around Consumption Habits of Australians

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What’s the current data around consumption habits of Australians?

The National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2019 recently released the following consumption trends:  

The key findings of consumption habits in 2019 compared to 2016 are:

  • Marijuana/cannabis use up to 11.6 per cent from 10.4 per cent
  • Ecstasy use up to 3.0 per cent from 2.2 per cent
  • Cocaine use up to 4.2 per cent from 2.5 per cent
  • Risky alcohol consumption stable at 25 per cent
  • Proportion of ex-drinkers up to 8.9 per cent from 7.6 per cent.

 

It also found that:

  • In 2019, for the first time, more people said they supported the legalisation of cannabis than opposed it (41% compared with 37%).
  • Almost 3 in 5 Australians (57%) supported potential drug users being able to test their pills or other drugs at designated sites. 
  • There has also been a shift towards education, rather than law enforcement, as the preferred strategy to reduce the use of illicit drugs — when asked where money should be spent, people allocated more funds to education than to law enforcement for the first time in 2019. 
  • Between 2016 and 2019, there was also a decline in support for policies aimed at reducing the problems associated with excessive alcohol use. For example, support for reducing trading hours for pubs and clubs declined from 39% in 2016 to 31% in 2019.

To read more finding from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2019 check it out here > https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/national-drug-strategy-household-survey-2019/contents/table-of-contents

Reference

[1] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2020). National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2019: detailed findings. Canberra: AIHW.