CANBERRA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Australian National Council on Drugs report (ANCD) confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that levels and patterns of alcohol consumption in Australia are frequently risky or unhealthy and alcohol consumption among young people is "a significant concern."
The ANCD was established in 1998 as the principal advisory body to the prime minister and the federal government on drug and alcohol policy.
Alcohol consumption is a regular part of social life for many Australians. However, the ANCD confirmed that levels and patterns of consumption in Australia are frequently risky or unhealthy. In 2010, per capita consumption of pure alcohol by Australians was estimated to be 10.25 liters, which is considered high by international standards.
And alcohol consumption among young people is a significant concern. While many young people typically engage in fewer episodes of drinking overall, they are more likely to consume at higher risk levels each time, the ANCD said.
It found young people were also more likely to specifically drink to become intoxicated, and more likely to experience acute alcohol-related injuries.
Almost two thirds of 18-29-year-olds said they drank " specifically to get drunk" and the hospitalization of one in five people under the age of 25 was the result of alcohol, according to the report.
According to the report, one in five Australians consume alcohol at levels that put them at risk of lifetime harm from injury or disease. In addition, two in five Australians consume alcohol at levels that put them at risk of short-term harm at least once a year.
The figures also note that over one-third (36 percent) of drinkers said their primary purpose when drinking is 'to get drunk. '
And alcohol has been causally linked to at least 60 different medical conditions. The report said that 3.2 percent of the total burden of disease in Australia is related to alcohol use. And hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption results in costs of more than 15.3 billion AU dollars (almost 14.38 billion US dollars) a year across the nation.
ANCD chairman Dr. John Herron said that the report shows more work needs to be done to tackle the problem.
"The level of alcohol-related damage occurring in our communities is simply appalling," he said in a TV program on Wednesday. "The health, social and economic costs associated with alcohol use simply cannot be allowed to continue at the current level."
Based on this situation, the ANCD has created an Alcohol Action Plan which aims to stem the "unacceptable levels of crime, violence, health harms and family disturbance" caused by alcohol.
According to the ANCD, the plan calls for all states and territories to collect and release data on alcohol sales to allow local analysis. It also wants statistics on both police incidents and emergency department admissions that involve alcohol collected across the country.
And the plan also called for alcohol consumption guidelines should be developed for older Australians and a Parliamentary review on the impact of alcohol advertising should be established.
