Risk of Alcohol-Related Harm Over A Lifetime

"About 1 in 5 people in Australia aged 14 years or older consumed alcohol at a level that puts them at risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury over their lifetime (Table 4.4). Results from the 2010 survey showed that:
"• there was little change in the proportion of risky drinkers from 2007 (20.3%) to 2010 (20.1%)
"• more than 3.7 million people in Australia aged 14 years or older were at risk of an alcohol-related disease or injury over their lifetime based on their pattern of drinking in 2010 (up from 3.5 million in 2007)
"• people aged 18–29 years were more likely than any other age group to drink alcohol in a way that put them at risk of alcohol-related harm over their lifetime (31.7% for those aged 18–19 years and 26.9% for those aged 20–29 years)
"• males were twice as likely as females to drink alcohol in quantities that put them at risk of incurring an alcohol-related chronic disease or injury over their lifetime (29.0% and 11.3%, respectively)
"• according to guideline 3 of the 2009 guidelines, for those aged under 18 years, not drinking is the safest option, and this is especially important for children aged under 15 years. Positively, the proportion of people aged 12–15 years and 16–17 years abstaining from alcohol increased in 2010 (from 69.9% to 77.2% and from 24.4% to 31.6%, respectively)."