Millions of Australians drink to 'feel normal'

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by Change | 14 Sep 2010

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Millions of Australians regularly consume alcohol in a bid to "feel normal", a new survey has revealed.

Approximately four million Australians regularly consume alcohol out of habit, while a further 1.4 million drink in an attempt to "feel normal".

This is according to the Salvation Army's Roy Morgan survey, which also revealed 2.4 million people in the country - including one third of those aged between 18 and 24 - drink with the sole intention of getting drunk.

The findings were met with concern from Kathryn Wright, the Salvation Army's state drug and alcohol services co-ordinator.

"The very act of getting drunk has health implications every time someone does it," the Sydney Morning Herald reported her as saying.

''It's so ingrained in our culture that drinking is the way that you celebrate, it's the way that you commiserate, it's the way that you socialise, that it sort of crosses a boundary that drunkenness in some instances is very socially acceptable," she went on to tell the newspaper.

The poll also showed that nearly one in ten Australian men drink every day, while over a third (36 per cent) consume more alcohol than is recommended during an evening.

According to the Australian government's institute of health and welfare, New South Wales has the largest number of alcohol and drug addiction treatment agencies in Australia (41 per cent of all those in the country).

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