DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines - Eat For Health

etter health outcomes than those who do not drink, but this finding is being increasingly
challenged [604]. Most studies have found that abstainers have better health outcomes than heavy
drinkers.
In the Australian population, alcohol is responsible for 3.3% of the total disease burden while it
prevents 1% of the total disease burden. This equates to a net effect of 2.3%, equivalent to 61,091
DALYS (Disability Adjusted Life Years) and 0.8% (1,084) of all deaths [11]. In Indigenous
Australians, alcohol is responsible for a net 5.4% of the total disease burden and 6.7% of all deaths
[605]. Alcohol is second only to tobacco as a preventable cause of drug-related death and
hospitalization [606].
The total social costs of alcohol were $15.3 billion in 2004/05, the majority (71%) being for
tangible costs such as reduction of the workforce, absenteeism, health care, law enforcement,
alcohol education campaigns and research [607, 608].
This chapter utilises the recent NHRMC publication Australian Guidelines to Reduce Health Risks
from Drinking Alcohol [609] with additional evidence sourced from the Evidence Report to inform
the revision of the Guidelines [14].
The alcohol guidelines are as follows.
1. For healthy men and women, drinking no more than two standard drinks on any one day
reduces the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury.
2. For healthy men and women, drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single
occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion.
3. a. Parents and carers should be advised that children under 15 years of age are at the
greatest risk of harm from drinking and that for this age group, not drinking alcohol is
especially important.
b. For young people aged 15-17 years, the safest option is to delay the initiation of drinking
for as long as possible.
4. a. For women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, not drinking is the safest option.
b. For women who are breastfeeding, not drinking is the safest option.
Most recommendations on alcohol consumption are made on the basis of ‘standard’ drinks
consumed. A standard drink in Australia contains 10g of alcohol (equivalent to 12.5mL of alcohol)
[609]. The alcohol concentration of drinks is printed on the label in terms of percentage by
DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 93