Media Releases

One in six "heavy drinkers"

20 July 1999

One in six New Zealanders drink alcohol in harmful amounts according to a guideline on alcohol and cannabis abuse (www.nzgg.org.nz/guidelines) released by the National Health Committee. Around 40 percent of males aged 15 to 24, and 25 percent of females in the same age group are heavy drinkers - defined as consuming more than 21 standard drinks per week for men and more than 14 for women.

Alcohol abuse is a major cause of premature death, preventable ill health, social harm and psychological damage to the drinker and those close to them.

Further costs include the four “Ls”

• Liver - physical harm from alcohol-related disease or trauma;

• Lover - relationship, marital, and family problems including domestic violence;

• Livelihood - employment problems, absenteeism, poor work performance; and

• Law - legal difficulties, drink driving, possession of illicit substances.

Alcohol abuse by young people is of particular concern. While experimentation with alcohol and drugs is a normal part of adolescent development, those regularly drinking to excess are less likely to appreciate the need for treatment. Excessive use of alcohol also puts young people at risk of sexually transmitted disease and unwanted pregnancy.

It has been estimated that the cost of alcohol abuse in New Zealand is somewhere between $1 billion and $4 billion in terms of reduced or lost production time as a result of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related deaths, cost of treating alcohol-related disease, and ACC and policing costs.

Cannabis is the third most widely used drug after tobacco and alcohol. Fifteen percent of New Zealanders aged 15 to 45 describe themselves as current users and one percent in this age group are daily users.

Heavy, persisting use of cannabis has been shown to cause subtle impairment of intellectual abilities such as attention, concentration and problem solving and this is especially harmful to children and adolescents as it will interfere with maturation and development. It is also damaging to those with mental disorders, especially psychosis. Smoking cannabis can cause respiratory problems in the same way as tobacco.

Early intervention with problem drinkers is effective. The National Health Committee says GPs should use a brief intervention strategy with those identified as at risk. Those identified as alcohol-dependent should be referred to specialist alcohol and drug services. Brief interventions can have a significant positive impact on public health and the individual's quality of life.

General practice presents an ideal opportunity for early detection and intervention in problem drinking and cannabis use, as well as common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Yet harmful drinking patterns are often not recognised by GPs.

Committee suggests that general practitioners and other primary care providers routinely include questions aimed at detecting problem drinking in their discussions with all patients over 14 years.

Although there is little research on treatment of cannabis problems it is widely agreed that the approach taken in these guidelines is applicable to forms of substance abuse other than alcohol.

The guideline, which covers alcohol and cannabis abuse, is the third in a series addressing common mental disorders, the other two focusing on depression and anxiety disorders.

The National Health Committee stands behind these guidelines as a sound framework for recognising, assessing, and treating those engaged in harmful and hazardous drinking and for approaching the problem of substance abuse in general.