Alcohol is a significant preventable cause of poor health and wellbeing in Boroondara. Alcohol consumption places people at increased risk of more than 200 physical and mental illnesses. Episodes of heavy drinking place the drinker and others at risk of injury or death (World Health Organisation alcohol factsheet, 2023).
Despite the risks, Australians have low awareness of health guidelines for alcohol consumption, and most are unaware of the link between alcohol consumption and cancer (Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education, 2020).
Self-reported alcohol consumption
There is no safe limit for alcohol consumption. In 2020, the National Health and Medical Research Council revised the Australian alcohol guidelines, recommending:
- healthy adults should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week, and no more than 4 standard drinks in any one day
- people under 18 years should not drink alcohol
- women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not drink alcohol.
Lifetime risk from alcohol-related harm includes many types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases and illness such as cirrhosis of the liver, dementia and other cognitive problems. Short-term alcohol-related harm can include road crashes, falls, drowning, suicide and acute alcohol toxicity (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2020).
The proportion of Victorians at increased risk of alcohol-related disease or injury is 13.1%, with Victorians aged 65 to 74 the most at risk age group (18.5%). Men in metropolitan Melbourne are more likely to be at increased risk, at 16.5% compared to 7.4% for women.
Many adults (18 years and over) in Boroondara report alcohol consumption patterns that put them at risk of alcohol-related harm (Figure 1).
Figure 1: A slightly higher percentage of Boroondara residents are at increased risk of alcohol-related harm compared to metropolitan Melbourne. Source: Unpublished Victorian Population Health Survey, 2023.
Indicators of alcohol-related harm
The following information was sourced from AODstats by Turning Points.
Hospital admissions of Boroondara residents for alcohol-related events increased after 2019-20 (+26%). Deaths of Boroondara residents from alcohol-related events, and alcohol-related ambulance attendances to Boroondara locations ranged between 200 and 300 per 100,000 population for most of the 10 years to 2021 (most recent data available) (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The rate (per 100,000 residents) of hospital admissions of Boroondara residents for alcohol-related events has increased. Deaths and ambulance attendances have remained more stable. Source: Turning Point 2024, AODstats - Victorian alcohol and drug statistics
Figure 3: Ambulance attendances to Boroondara locations are lower per 100,000 than across metropolitan Melbourne, but Boroondara residents are more likely to be admitted to hospital or die from alcohol-related causes. Source: Turning Point 2024, AODstats - Victorian alcohol and drug statistics.
Figures 4 through 6 show the age and sex profile of those impacted by alcohol-related harms.
Figure 4: In Boroondara during 2022-23, males and those aged 35-44 were more likely to be attended by an ambulance for alcohol-intoxication related events. Source: Turning Point 2024, AODstats - Victorian alcohol and drug statistics.
Figure 5: Among Boroondara residents during 2021-22, those aged 45 to 64 were most likely to be admitted to hospital for alcohol-related events. Source: Turning Point 2024, AODstats - Victorian alcohol and drug statistics.
Figure 6: During 2021, Boroondara residents aged 65+ were most likely to die from alcohol-related events. Source: Turning Point 2024, AODstats - Victorian alcohol and drug statistics.