While most of us who drink alcohol drink in moderation, there's a reasonably large group of us who drink more than is good for our mental and physical health.
Drinking too much can harm the drinker and others, including those they work with.
Who’s drinking?
These statistics are taken from the 2015-16 New Zealand Health Survey.
Four out of five (80%) adults (aged 15 - 74) drank alcohol in the past year, the same as the previous year.
84% of adult men and 76% of adult women drank alcohol within the past year, virtually the same as the previous year.
57% of young people (15-17) drank alcohol in the past year.
How often are we drinking? In the Alcohol Use 2012-13 New Zealand Health Survey, a third (31%) of drinkers drank alcohol regularly, at least three to four times a week.
Who’s drinking hazardously?
Statistics from 2015/16 show the hazardous drinking rate of all adults (which includes non-drinkers) has risen again, and is now 19% following a low of 15% in 2011/12.
'Hazardous drinking' in this context refers to an established pattern of drinking that carries a risk of harming the drinker's physical or mental health, or having harmful social effects on the drinker or others.
When non-drinkers are taken out, 24% of past-year drinkers have a hazardous drinking pattern.
Men – Just over a quarter (27%) of men were hazardous drinkers, compared to 12% of women.
Young people – Hazardous drinking rates are at 33% in young adults aged 18–24 years, which is lower than in 2006/07 when it was 43%. This group is also most likely to drink more than six drinks on one occasion (binge drinking) at least weekly (18%).
Mid-life adults – This rise is largely due to an increase in hazardous drinking by all adults aged 45–54 years, up to 19% in 2015/16 from 12% in 2006/07.
Socioeconomic – Adults in the most socioeconomically deprived areas were more likely to be hazardous drinkers (23%) than those in the least deprived areas (16%).
Maori – About one in three Māori adults (33%) had a hazardous drinking pattern, as did 21% of Pacific adults.
Pacific – While Pacific adults are less likely overall to have drunk alcohol in the past year (58%) than non-Pacific adults, those who do drink are more likely to be hazardous drinkers than non-Pacific adults who drink. The survey showed 41% of male Pacific past-year drinkers are hazardous drinkers.
Risky drinking behaviours – and their consequences
Drink driving: Drinking and driving is the most commonly reported risky behaviour associated with drinking. According to the Alcohol Use 2012-13 New Zealand Health Survey, one in six drinkers who drove in the past year have driven while feeling under the influence of alcohol.
Violence: Drinkers experience a range of harms (mostly physical) as a result of their own drinking. Also, a range of physical harm is experienced due to someone else’s drinking.
Health: Between 600 and 800 New Zealanders die each year from alcohol related causes. Nearly 1/5 of all deaths for men, and 1/10 of all deaths for women are attributed to alcohol use.
Find more alcohol information and statistics here.