The just released annual NZ Health survey shows the cultural shift in the way Kiwis are drinking continues.

Hazardous drinking or harmful alcohol consumption among adults was similar to last year and has declined by 4.7 percentage points in the past 4 years to 16.6% (21.3% 2019/20).

The largest decrease in hazardous drinking over the past five years was among young New Zealanders’ 18-24 years – a decline of 13.2 percentage points to 22.6%.

“This reduction in hazardous drinking shows the change in the way that we are drinking,” said NZABC executive director Virginia Nicholls.

In NZ fewer young people under 18 are drinking alcohol and those who do are drinking less hazardously.

Although the legal age for purchasing alcohol in New Zealand is 18 years old, 51% of those aged 15–17 years drank alcohol in the past year, which has declined by 8.9 percentage points since the survey began in 2011/12.

The Stats NZ alcohol consumption per capita has also declined 29% since 1986.

When we compare our drinking with other countries in the OECD Kiwis are drinking less than the OECD average. This includes less than the US, UK, Australia, Germany, France and Ireland.

“These trends are positive however we need to invest more in education both at secondary school and in our work places to continue to accelerate these changes”, said Virginia.

The Health NZ guidelines for low risk drinking are two standard drinks a day for women, and three standard drinks a day for men, with at least two alcohol-free days each week.

About the New Zealand Alcohol Beverages Council

The NZ Alcohol Beverages Council is a pan-industry group that comments publicly on matters relating to the beer, wine, spirits and beverage industry. It focuses on supporting responsible alcohol consumption and wants to see a fair and balanced debate on alcohol regulation in New Zealand.

References:

1 A NZHS ‘survey year’ usually refers to the sample drawn from July to June, in four calendar quarters (that is, July to September, October to December, January to March and April to June). Data collection for each quarter usually occurs during the calendar quarter, with some 'mop-up' at the end of the quarter. However, this approach has been disrupted since the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020.

Data for the 2023/24 NZHS was collected over 12 months from 13 July 2023 to 24 July 2024. Data collection was slower than it was in pre-COVID years, due to ongoing operational challenges and weather events. As a result, quarter 4 was only partially opened, and the sample size for 2023/24 is smaller than surveys before COVID-19. methodology-report-2023-24-new-zealand-health-survey-nov24.docx, P 36, accessed 19 November 24.

2 Hazardous drinking among the total population. Hazardous drinking refers to a score of 8 or more on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), which suggests hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption.

3 The largest decrease in hazardous drinking over the past five years was among young New Zealanders 18-24 years – a decline of 13.2 percentage points to 22.6%. (35.8% (2018/19) minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2023-24-annual-data-explorer/_w_9aa69646/#!/explore-topics, accessed 19 November 2024.

4 Although the legal age for purchasing alcohol in New Zealand is 18 years old, 51% of those aged 15–17 years drank alcohol in the past year, which has declined by 8.9 percentage points since the survey began in 2011/12. This is similar to last year (56.3% 21/22 and 59.9% in 2011/12) which means a reduction in the past two years of 5.3 percentage points and since the survey began a reduction of 8.9 percentage points.

5 Stats NZ: Total NZ population 15 years and over alcohol available for consumption (per head of population). Year end 1986 (10.867 litres), June 2024 (7.666 litres). Browse - Infoshare - Statistics New Zealand (stats.govt.nz)

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