Smoking rates in Australia continue to drop while the use of e-cigarettes has tripled, and is highest in areas of most socioeconomic advantage.
These are some of the findings from the latest three-yearly National Drug Strategy Household Survey, which also found for the first time since monitoring began that young women were as likely to use illicit drugs as men the same age.
Published by the federal government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Thursday, the 2022-23 survey asked more than 21,000 people across the country aged 14 and over about their use of, and attitudes, towards tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol and illicit drugs.
Here are some of the findings.
Risky alcohol consumption – and other behaviours in 2022-23
In 2022-23, about one in three people (31 per cent or 6.6 million people) aged 14 and over consumed alcohol in ways that put their health at risk. In 2019, a similar level (32 per cent or around 6.7 million people) reported risky alcohol consumption.
Alcohol remains the most commonly used drug in Australia, with about three in four people (77 per cent) reporting they consumed it in the previous 12 months.
Population estimates: Drug use behaviours of Australians aged 14 and over in 2022-23. Source: SBS News
According to National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines, revised in December 2020, drinking at “risky levels” involves more than 10 standard drinks a week or more than four standard drinks in a single day at least once a month.
“Despite updated guidelines to reduce alcohol-related harms, the proportion of people in Australia who drink alcohol at risky levels has not changed since 2019,” Dr Gabrielle Phillips from the AIHW said.
Between 2019 and 2022-23, the proportion of people who drank at risky levels did not change substantially at a national level. In the last year, men were more likely to do so (39 per cent) compared to women (23 per cent) – though this proportion has been declining for several years.
However, the survey found this behaviour has increased among some young women — narrowing the gap with men of a similar age.
In 2019, men aged 18-24 were much more likely to consume alcohol at risky levels (47 per cent) than women of the same age (35 per cent). In 2022-23, the proportion of young men was 45 per cent, compared to 40 per cent of women — the smallest gap seen since 2001.
Among other population estimates of behaviours in 2022-23, 2.5 million people recently used cannabis (in the previous 12 months), 1.8 million smoked daily, 1.5 million were currently using e-cigarettes and one million recently used cocaine.
Young people most likely to use e-cigarettes, as vaping triples
Smoking rates among Australians continue to drop, while the use of e-cigarettes has tripled between 2019 and 2022-23.
According to the survey, the proportion of people aged 14 and over who smoked daily has dropped from 24 per cent in 1991 to 8.3 per cent in 2022-23. The proportion who have never smoked continues to rise — from 49 per cent in 1991 to 65 per cent in 2022-23.
The proportion of surveyed Australians who smoked daily from 2001 to 2022-23, by age. Source: SBS News
Meanwhile, the use of e-cigarettes increased from 2.5 per cent in 2019 to 7.0 per cent in 2022-23. Around one in five people (19.8 per cent) aged 14 and over reported having used an e-cigarette at least once in their lifetime — up from 11.3 per cent in 2019.
This was most common among young people, with the use among those aged 18-24 increasing from 5.3 per cent in 2019 to 21 per cent in 2022-23.
The proportion of surveyed Australians who were current e-cigarette users, by age. Source: SBS News
“Half (49 per cent) of people aged 18–24 reported having tried an e-cigarette in their lifetime,” Phillips said.
Meanwhile, older age groups were most likely to smoke tobacco and the least likely to use e-cigarettes.
Daily e-cigarette use highest in areas of socioeconomic advantage
Daily smoking is highest in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic areas, while daily use of e-cigarettes is highest in areas of most advantage — and is rising.
The 2022-23 survey also included a breakdown of behaviours and attitudes based on socioeconomic area. Areas were divided into five equal parts, known as quintiles.
People in the lowest socioeconomic areas were about 3.3 times as likely to smoke daily as those in the highest socioeconomic areas in 2022-23 (13.4 per cent compared with 4.1 per cent).
The proportion of surveyed Australians who smoked daily, from 2001 to 2022-23, by socioeconomic area. Source: SBS News
But this is declining. The proportion who smoked tobacco daily in the lowest socioeconomic areas dropped from 18.1 per cent in 2019 to 13.4 per cent in 2022-23, from 13.7 to 11.1 per cent in the second lowest and from 10.7 to 8.3 per cent in the third lowest socioeconomic areas.
Meanwhile, the proportion of people who used e-cigarettes daily increased in all socioeconomic areas, when compared with 2019, where it ranged from 0.8 to 1.3 per cent.
But in 2022-23, those living in the highest socioeconomic areas were the most likely to use them daily (4.1 per cent), while those living in the lowest socioeconomic areas were the least likely (2.8 per cent).
The proportion of surveyed Australians who were current e-cigarette users, by socioeconomic area. Source: SBS News
Illicit drug use on the rise among young females
In 2022-23, around one in five (18 per cent or 3.9 million) Australians aged 14 and over reported using an illicit drug in the past year. Almost half (47 per cent of 10.2 million) had used one in their lifetime.
The survey found recent use of many illicit drugs remained stable between 2019 and 2022-23, including cannabis (at 11.5 per cent) and cocaine (at 4.5 per cent). However, hallucinogens and ketamine increased from 1.6 and 0.9 per cent to 2.4 and 1.4 per cent, while ecstasy decreased from 3.0 to 2.1 per cent.
However, Phillips noted an increase in illicit drug use in young women.
The recent use of illicit drugs among surveyed 18-24 year olds in 2019 and 2022-23, by gender. Source: SBS News
“Males have historically been more likely to use illicit drugs than females, however 2022–2023 was the first time since monitoring began that females aged 18–24 were as likely to use illicit drugs as males of the same age,” Phillips said.
More than one in three (35 per cent) of women aged 18–24 reported recent use of illicit drugs in 2022-23, up from around one in four (27 per cent) in 2019. Recent use among young males remained stable at 35 per cent.
“Between 2019 and 2022–2023, the use of cannabis (up from 20 per cent to 26 per cent) and cocaine (up from 8.0 per cent to 11.9 per cent) increased substantially among young females aged 18-24,” Phillips said.
To access free and confidential advice about alcohol and other drugs, phone the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.
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