The expansion of online sale and delivery is making alcohol more accessible at home, increasing the risk of alcohol harms.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Australians reported using alcohol most frequently at home with 73% drinking either in their home or someone else’s home, according to FARE’s 2020 Annual Alcohol Poll.
FARE’s 2020 Annual Alcohol Poll found the majority (70 per cent) of rapid alcohol delivery users drank at risky levels, including 38 per cent who drank more than 10 standard drinks on the day of delivery.
A 2020 VicHealth survey also found that a third of people who use online alcohol companies said they did not have their ID checked. What is even more shocking — around a quarter of those people were aged 18-24.
Risky levels of alcohol use can increase the likelihood of self-harm and family violence.
Alcohol companies have a responsibility to make sure they are not harming our communities.
But our laws have not kept pace with the changing ways companies sell alcohol.
There are unintended loopholes that mean the common-sense checks and balances we expect as a community are not being upheld online – like checking IDs to make sure alcohol is not sold to children or practicing responsible service of alcohol to ensure it is not being delivered to people who are already intoxicated.
It’s time to close these loopholes to help keep our communities healthy and safe.
