Is Australia’s use of tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol, and illicit drugs changing over time?
More than 21,000 people across the country took part in the National Drug Strategy Household Survey held in 2022–2023. The survey asks people in Australia aged 14 and over about their use of, and attitudes toward, tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol and illicit drugs.
The latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey has been released today. Below are some key findings.
Daily smoking rate in Australia the lowest it has ever been while vaping rate triples.
Less than 10% of people aged 14 and over are smoking daily, yet the use of e-cigarettes and vapes has tripled between 2019 and 2022–2023.
Between 2019 and 2022–2023, the national tobacco smoking rate for people aged 14 and over dropped from 11.0% to 8.3%.
That’s around 1.8 million people smoking daily in 2022–2023, down from 2.3 million in 2019.
One in 5 (19.8%) people aged 14 and over in Australia reported having used an e-cigarette at least once in their lifetime, with 7.0% currently vaping in 2022–2023. This is an increase since 2019, when 11.3% of people had used an e-cigarette at least once in their lifetime, and 2.5% were currently using them.
Alcohol remains the most commonly used drug in Australia.
About 3 in 4 (77%) people in Australia consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months.
Despite updated guidelines to reduce alcohol-related harms, the proportion of people who drink alcohol at risky levels has not changed, with around 1 in 3 people (31%) reporting they drank alcohol in ways that put their health at risk in 2022–2023, similar to 2019 (32%).
Males were more likely to drink at risky levels than females in 2022–2023 (39% compared to 23%).
The proportion of males drinking at risky levels has been on a long-term decline, from 50% in 2007 to 39% in 2022–2023. A similar trend occurred among females, but the change was much more gradual (from 27% in 2007 to 23% in 2022–2023).
Use of illicit drugs increases, driven by hallucinogens.
In 2022–2023, 47%, or 10.2 million, people aged 14 and over had illicitly used a drug at some point in their lifetime and 3.9 million (or 17.9%) had used one in the past 12 months.
Use of many illicit drugs in Australia remained stable between 2019 and 2022–2023, including cannabis and cocaine. However, this wasn’t the case for all illicit drugs.
From 2019 to 2022–2023:
- Marijuana/cannabis, remained stable at 11.5%
- Cocaine, remained relatively stable at 4.5%
- Hallucinogens, increased from 1.6% to 2.4%
- Ketamine, increased from 0.9% to 1.4%
- Non-medical use of pain-relievers and opioids, dropped from 2.7% to 2.2%
Males across all age groups have historically been more likely to use illicit drugs than females, however 2022–2023 was the first time since monitoring began that females aged 18–24 were as likely to use illicit drugs as males of the same age. In 2022–2023, more than 1 in 3 (35%) females aged 18–24 reported recent use of illicit drugs, up from around 1 in 4 (27%) in 2019. Recent use among young males remained stable at 35% in 2022–2023.
Recent use of cocaine increased among females aged 18–24 between 2019 (8.0%) and 2022–2023 (11.9%), resulting in slightly higher use among females than males of the same age (11.2%).
There was also an increase in the recent use of cannabis between 2019 (20%) and 2022–2023 (26%) among females aged 18–24, making them just as likely as young men to have used cannabis (26%).
Further findings
Read the full report or learn more about Australia’s attitudes and usage of tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol and illicit drugs.
For reference: When reporting on drug and alcohol issues, journalists may wish to consult the Mindframe guidelines on ‘Communicating about alcohol and other drugs'.
To access free and confidential advice about alcohol and other drugs, phone the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline - 1800 250 015