Fast Facts (Auditor General Report)

Four Australians under 25 die due to alcohol related injuries in an average week.

One in two Australians 15-17 who get drunk will do something they regret.

70 Australians under 25 will be hospitalised due to alcohol-caused assault in an average week.

On average, 1 in 4 hospitalisations of people 15-24 happen because of alcohol.

Drinking to intoxication can put you into situations that might be dangerous, embarrassing, or which you may later regret. Every time you drink, you are at risk of causing harm to yourself or others.

Risky and/or high risk drinking can result in both short and long-term harms, including:

The risks associated with short-term harm can include immediate health and social problems, such as:

injuries from violence (as a perpetrator, a victim, or a witness);
pedestrian and road accidents (death/severe injury);
drowning; trauma related admissions to hospital emergency departments;
alcohol poisoning; social and personal consequences (families / embarrassment)
loss of valuable items i.e. phone or wallet; and
greater risk of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and/or an unwanted pregnancy.
High risk drinking during early adulthood also has longer-term consequences, including:
social problems, such as spending more time drinking than pursuing other interests;
brain damage, including the inability to learn and remember things;
depression and suicidal thoughts;
the development of chronic disease, including some cancers and heart disease;
cirrhosis of the liver; and
dependence on alcohol.
The level of risk associated with drinking both in the short term and the long term depends on a variety of factors. However, low risk levels define a level of drinking at which there is a minimal risk of harm whilst risky levels are those at which the risk of harm is significantly increased beyond any possible benefits. High risk drinking levels are those at which there is substantial risk of serious harm, and above which risk continues to increase rapidly.

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