Home is saucier than bar

THE home is where the majority of Australians consume the most in a single occasion and also drink most frequently, research out today from the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) reveals.

And a shock finding shows that when alcohol is delivered to the home, nearly 40 per cent of people drink more than 11 drinks on delivery day.

The Annual Alcohol Poll 2020: Behaviours and Attitudes found that 67 per cent of Australians who drink had the largest quantity in one occasion in the past 12 months in the home, which is also where the majority drink most frequently.

The poll was conducted in January and February, just before the COVID-19 lockdown measures were introduced.

FARE chief executive Caterina Giorgi said drinking in the home was a long-standing trend that had intensified in the lockdowns.

“Despite what many of us assume, people who drink alcohol are more likely to do so at home – and this is true even before the lockdown measures. This is the case whether people are younger or older, women or men, or living in major cities or regional areas,” Ms Giorgi said.

“Drinking in the home is widespread, yet we don’t often think about the harms from alcohol occurring in the home because they’re largely invisible. Alcohol increases the severity and frequency of family violence and contributes to a range of cancers and alcohol dependence. These harms have significant negative impacts on children, families and whole communities,” Ms Giorgi said.

The poll also examined alcohol retail online and found that of people who had ordered alcohol online in the past 12 months, 23 per cent had alcohol delivered at least weekly and almost half had had alcohol delivered within two hours.

Of the people who had online retailers deliver within two hours, 70 per cent drank more than four standard drinks that day, while 38 per cent drank 11 or more standard drinks that day.

“Retailers are pushing alcohol into homes at all hours, with delivery as soon as 30 minutes. These practices are contributing to riskier alcohol use, and commonsense measures, such as introducing a two-hour delay between online orders and delivery, are needed to prevent harm,” Ms Giorgi said.

Online alcohol retailers also were not routinely checking ID, with only 38 per cent of people indicating their ID was checked on delivery.