Alcohol-related diseases are behind the deaths of nearly 6,000 Australians each year, according to a new study.
A study by the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) at Western Australia's Curtin University found an estimated 5,785 people aged over 15 died from alcohol-related illnesses in 2015.
Of these people, 36 per cent died from alcohol-attributed cancer while cardiovascular disease, digestive diseases and injuries each accounted for 17 per cent of deaths.
NDRI alcohol policy team leader Professor Tanya Chikritzh. Source: SBS
"I think it's highly likely that the numbers will increase over time as the science gets better, we get better at identifying conditions that are caused by alcohol but also because the population is increasing over time," NDRI alcohol policy team leader Professor Tanya Chikritzhs said.
The study also found a person dies every 90 minutes and someone ends up in hospital every 3.5 minutes from preventable conditions caused by alcohol.
Professor Chikritzhs said "this really doesn't come as a surprise".
Australian Medical Association vice president Dr Tony Bartone. Source: SBS
"I think most emergency department physicians will tell you straight up that one of their biggest jobs and greatest distractions is people coming in intoxicated with alcohol," she said.
Australian Medical Association vice president Dr Tony Bartone said that "alcohol is a very pervasive issue in our society and is a cause of significant burden of health disease and trauma in our nation".
Australia ranks 16th in the world for alcohol consumption - ahead of the UK and the United States.
"It all comes down to drinking culture in our society. We need to understand we need to get more ahead of the curb in terms of prevention, education and information for our community," Mr Bartone said.
Medical experts said one way is to make health warning labels mandatory on alcohol bottles.
The Cancer Council's Paul Grogan. Source: SBS
"Just text warning labels to remind people that this is a risk they are taking with their behaviour," the Cancer Council's Paul Grogan said.
Another is by limiting advertising of alcohol on our screens.
"If everybody in Australia drank within the health guidelines which are no more than two standard drinks a day we would go close to halving the number of alcohol-related cancers diagnosed in Australia in a year," Mr Grogan said.
