Alcohol products cause substantial harm to Australians, with alcohol use causally linked to over 200 disease and injury conditions. Nearly 6,000 people lose their lives every year and more than 144,000 people are hospitalised from alcohol use, making alcohol use one of our nation’s greatest preventive health challenges. Australia is currently experiencing some of the highest rates of alcohol-induced deaths in over 20 years.
Alcohol promotion contributes to alcohol harm. For children and adolescents, exposure to alcohol marketing increases the likelihood that they will start to drink alcohol at a younger age and that they will go on to drink alcohol at higher-risk levels. For people at higher risk of experiencing an alcohol use disorder, recent research shows that alcohol marketing can increase positive alcohol-related emotions and cognitions as well as cue alcohol cravings.
This brief report presents the five weeks across a year when alcohol harms are highest in Victoria. It also examines the marketing practices of alcohol companies on Meta during these periods.
