A new survey of Australians has revealed that 44 per cent of people who drink alcohol want to drink less or stop drinking altogether.1
The main reasons that people want to drink less alcohol include to: improve their physical health (75 per cent); improve their mental health (50 per cent); improve their sleep (22 per cent); and because they don’t like the way it makes them feel (22 per cent).
The survey was commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), to coincide with the launch of a new online hub designed to support people who want to learn more about alcohol and its impact on our health and wellbeing.
FARE CEO Caterina Giorgi said the hub is an important resource for people seeking factual information about alcohol and wanting to make a change.
“This survey shows that there are many people who are looking to cut back on drinking to improve their health and wellbeing.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to cutting back on alcohol and everyone’s experience is different. This new online hub provides people with a range of trusted tips, tools and resources to help them on their journey.
“There are many benefits to drinking less – like better sleep, improved mental and physical health, increased energy and better concentration.”
Maz Compton, a radio host who recently celebrated 10 years of sobriety, said she encouraged Australians to assess their relationship with alcohol.
“I looked at my relationship with alcohol as a person, and I called her Jenny,” she said.
“I realised that I was hanging out with Jenny most afternoons, but I wasn’t enjoying it. I stayed up too late, I felt like rubbish the next day, and lost pockets of time in my memory.
Maz initially set a short-term goal to stop drinking alcohol, then extended the break when she noticed dramatic improvements in her life.
“A few weeks after I stopped drinking, I started to see a whole range of benefits. It became the greatest self-care I had ever done for myself,” she said.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol (the Guidelines) recommend that healthy adults drink no more than 10 standard drinks per week and no more than four on any single day to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol. They also state that the less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol.
A majority of Australians surveyed (61 per cent) are unaware of current advice from the NHMRC.
Clinical addiction psychiatrist and researcher Associate Professor Shalini Arunogiri said FARE’s resources would help Australians to make informed choices about their health.
“The hub is a great go-to for Australians who are curious about how alcohol impacts their body and mind, and those who are considering making a change.
“For people seeking help to cut down or looking for treatment, the hub can be a great start to point you in the direction of services in your area,” she said.
To check out the online hub, head to fare.org.au.
- FARE commissioned Pureprofile to conduct polling of Australians to understand their intentions to change the amount of alcohol they drink and the motivations for doing so. The polling was conducted online in November 2024. The sample comprised 1,005 people aged 18 years and over, residing in Australia. The sample is nationally representative for age, gender and location. ↩︎
