Youth put a cork in alcohol consumption
YOUNG adults are turning off alcohol, saying they don’t like being drunk or need a drink to socialise.
Health is a main motivator for ditching the booze across all stages of life, a new Australian study has revealed.
The new insights into the motivations of why adults are corking their love affair with alcohol come as, individually, Australians are drinking the least they have for more than 50 years. Researchers analysed surveys of almost 98,000 Australians taken every three years, finding that rates of quitting or reducing consumption increased steadily over those 12 years to 2013.
Men were more likely to cut back and women were most likely to become teetotallers. Adults under 30 were most likely to reduce their drinking to improve their lifestyle, because they believe in moderation, to get more enjoyment from social situations and avoid violence.
Those aged 18-23 are most likely to stop drinking because they don’t like the taste and cost. For those aged over 30, health was the leading reason for curbing their consumption. Avoiding drink-driving was one of the biggest motivations for older adults. The study was published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.
Lead researcher Dr Amy Pennay from La Trobe University’s Centre for Alcohol Policy Research said their findings suggested there was a broad community shift in the acceptance of alcohol.
“Older people are still drinking quite heavily, but young people are starting to drink later and drinking less,” she said.
Darwin 26-year-old Madison Wright said she drank alcohol so rarely it could be six months between drinks.
“I’ve never developed a taste for most alcohols and was never the type to just drink for the sake of drinking,” she said. “I’ll drink soft drink or water if I go out.”
She said she had never felt pressured to drink alcohol. “I’ve been lucky in that the people I hang out with have never tried to pressure me to drink,” Ms Wright said.