Australia has always been known as a nation of booze-guzzling larrikins, but it only seems like a half-truth now that Aussies are choosing to lay off the drink. In fact, our alcohol consumption is the lowest it’s been in 55 years.
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According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics report, total piss consumption in 2016-17 by folks over the age of 15 was, on average, 9.4 litres of pure alcohol per person. That’s the straight-up poison component of drinking, of course, but the ABS also kindly put it into a more relatable format, which, per person, equates to:
- 224 stubbies of beer
- 38 bottles of wine
- 17 bottles of cider
- 4 bottles of spirits
- 33 cans of premixed spirits
Australia hasn’t drunk this little since 1961-62 and in terms of booze type, the biggest drop is in the consumption of beer, which is blasphemous, to me. On the other hand, that drop has been somewhat compensated by an increase in wine consumption, which is delicious, to me. We now drink roughly as much vino as we do beer.
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ABS director of health statistics, Louise Gates, reckons if you’re shocked by 244 stubbies per year, you should have seen the mid-70s where we were complete fucking maniacs.
“If 224 stubbies sounds like a lot, contrast that with 1974-75 when Australia reached ‘peak beer’ and the consumption was equivalent to over 500 stubbies per person,” she told the ABC.
There’s a lot of reasons folks are choosing to drink less, whether it’s for the health benefits, avoiding nasty hangovers, family, or the fact that it’s now a pretty expensive habit. In fact, many theorise that the ~youth these days~ are choosing nights out on pingers over booze simply because it’s way cheaper.
So while y’all are choosing not to drink, I’ll be over here with my tinnies, which I simply refuse to give up.
