Heavy drinkers account for 53% of all alcohol consumed per week

Australia’s heavy drinkers consume more than all other drinkers combined 

Heavy drinkers are classified as those who drink more than 21 glasses of alcohol per week (an average of more than three glasses a day), and in Australia around 17 per cent of the alcohol drinking population fall into this category, pulling into question the fitness levels and health of many Australians.  

What’s more, this same 17 per cent of heavy drinkers actually consume enough alcohol every week that it accounts for 53 per cent of all the alcohol consumed. 

The profile of the average heavy drinker as determined by Roy Morgan Research who compiled the data and outlined as males aged 18-35, single and over-represented among tradesmen and earning a good income. As for the times when they drank and the social surroundings, it was found that heavy drinkers tended to be more involved in daily social activities with the most common being:

•  Attending sporting events 
• Gambling events – pokies, TAB, online gambling
• Bars and clubs

Interesting, the average Australian heavy drinker also went shopping for personal items such as entertainment, music and hardware than any other demographic. When their media habits were analyzed it appeared that the average heavy drinker that they are a little less likely to heavy TV viewers, magazine readers and cinema goers, and slightly more likely to be heavy newspaper readers, Internet users and commercial radio listeners.

As for the remaining alcohol drinkers in Australia, it was 33 per cent of drinkers who consume 8-21 glasses a week, or an average of 2-3 per day, and make up for 34 per cent of all alcohol consumed while the remaining 50 per cent of drinkers account for only 14 per cent of the volume.

 Norman Woodcock, Business Development Director of Roy Morgan Research, stated that the most important thing to emerge from this research was the link between those that are considered heavy drinkers and a certain style of lifestyle.

“Just over half (53%) of all the alcohol consumed in Australia is consumed by 17% of drinkers who drink over 21 glasses of alcohol a week, or an average of  more than 3 drinks per day. What’s also important is that we are able to understand who those heavy drinkers are and the lifestyle they lead.

“Geography also plays a part with more heavy drinkers per head of population in Western Australia and in Queensland and less in Victoria and New South Wales, but it’s not only a state by state difference, we are seeing more heavy drinkers in the rural areas and smaller towns rather than in capital cities.”

Roy Morgan Research is the largest independent Australian research company and is considered to be the authoritative source of information on telecommunications and financial behaviour, readership, voting intentions and consumer confidence.