The latest New Zealand annual Health Survey assessment has shown continued positive change in drinking behaviour.
Five out of six New Zealanders drink beer, wine and spirits responsibly, and there has been an across-the-board decline in different measures of riskier drinking as compared to 2016/17.
“We are seeing a growing shift towards moderate drinking and healthy lifestyles, as our hazardous drinking and alcohol consumption continues to decline”, said NZABC Executive Director Virginia Nicholls.
There have been reductions in hazardous drinking, heavy episodic drinking or binge drinking both weekly and monthly. The rate of hazardous drinking in adults has consistently declined from 21.3 percent in 2020 to 16.6 percent this year, a reduction of 22 percent.
Hazardous drinking among women has declined, dropping from 13.8 percent in 2020 to 11.5 percent this year - a 16.6 percent reduction.
Men’s hazardous drinking remains high, but encouraging progress has been made. This has fallen from 28.9 percent in 2020 to 21.9 percent this year, representing a 24 percent reduction.
More people are choosing not to drink, with three-quarters of Kiwis currently drinking alcohol (74.9 percent) compared with 79.6 percent when the survey began.
Although the legal age for purchasing alcohol in New Zealand is 18 years old, 49 percent of those aged 15-17 years drank alcohol in the past year, versus 60.3 percent in 2011/12, a reduction of 23 percent.
This lined up with the NZ Youth 2000 survey, which showed an increasing proportion of secondary school students have been choosing not to drink. The proportion of secondary students who have never drunk alcohol increased markedly from 26 percent in 2007 to 45 percent in 2019.
While many New Zealand adults choose to drink full-strength beer, wine, and spirits more responsibly, there is also a rise of low- and no-alcohol drinks.
Independent Curia market research found that 55 percent of respondents said they drank low-alcohol beverages in the past year (up from 40 percent in 2020). The most common reasons are that they were driving, tracking beverage consumption, for health and wellbeing reasons and for a lower-calorie drink.
“There are some encouraging trends; however, we still have a way to go.”
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