Alcohol-induced deaths are at their highest rate in 10 years, driven by conditions that can be caused by long-term drinking such as late-stage liver disease, neurodegenerative diseases and heart failure.
The latest deaths data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday shows that in 2021, there were 1,559 people who died of an alcohol-induced death, comprising 1,156 men and 403 women.
Alcohol-induced deaths are those definitively caused by excessive alcohol use, and do not include deaths that are alcohol-related, such as in cases where alcohol is a contributing factor but not the only factor.
This equals a rate of 5.4 alcohol-induced deaths for every 100,000 people living in Australia, up from 5.1 in the previous two years. It marks an additional 107 alcohol-induced deaths compared with 2020.
“For males, the rate is the highest in the 10-year time series at 8.3 deaths per 100,000 people (8.1% increase since 2020),” the report says. “The rate for females remained the same as in 2020.”
Alcohol-induced deaths include cases with acute conditions such as alcohol poisoning. The increase over the last 10 years is largely due to conditions associated with long-term alcohol use, including liver cirrhosis.
The CEO of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (Fare), Caterina Giorgi, said she fears the issue will worsen as pressures on families and communities increase.
“During the pandemic, we have seen alcoholic products being heavily promoted by alcohol companies and marketed as a way to cope with the stresses and pressures being faced by families,” she said.
“It is heartbreaking to see the devastation that alcoholic products cause in our communities, [and is] something that can be prevented.
“We should not forget that behind these numbers and statistics are real people – our family members, our friends, our community.”
She called for tighter restrictions on alcohol advertising, and said the expansion of online sale and delivery is making alcohol more accessible at home, increasing the risk of alcohol harms.
The ABS deaths data report finds there were 171,469 deaths in 2021, and that heart disease remains the leading cause of death, accounting for 10% of deaths.
Influenza and pneumonia did not appear in the 20 leading causes of death for the first time in the 10-year time series. There were just two deaths from influenza recorded, a record low. There were 1,122 deaths from Covid-19, which ranked as the 34th leading cause of death.
“Australia recorded significantly lower than expected mortality during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, with death rates reaching historical lows,” the report found.
“Deaths decreased across many causes, but the decrease in respiratory disease deaths was most notable. The experience of Australia was different from that of many other countries, where significant increases in mortality were recorded, due largely to deaths from Covid-19.”
