Alcohol and other drugs

The use of alcohol and other drugs have serious, far-reaching consequences that result in many forms of social, health and economic harm. These harms are not experienced equally across population groups, and certain cohorts are at greater risk of harm which may also be exacerbated by intersectional disadvantage.

The health burden associated with alcohol and other drug use is considerable, including multiple forms of cancer, birth and pregnancy complications, mental health comorbidities, hospitalisations and mortalities. Alcohol is the fifth leading risk factor responsible for 4.5% of the total burden of disease and injury in Australia, and in South Australia 80% of people aged 14 and over regularly consume alcohol.

Illicit drug use includes illegal drugs as well as the harmful misuse of legal pharmaceuticals and other psychoactive substances. Data from the National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022-2023 shows cannabis continues to be the most widely used illicit substance, with 11.1% of South Australians having used it in the previous 12 months and there has been an increase in the use of cocaine (4.1%), hallucinogens (2.1%) and ketamine (0.7%). Illicit drug use constitutes 2.9% of Australia’s total disease burden, and in 2023 there were 1,635 drug-induced deaths across Australia, of which 1,060 (65%) were considered to be accidental.

We are committed to preventing and reducing these harms by taking a whole-of-government Health in All Policies approach to improve health equity and address the determinants of health that can place individuals at an increased risk of experiencing alcohol and other drug-related harms.

We collaborate with a range of community-based organisations, government agencies and health networks to co-design place-based services and supports that are effective, meet the needs of the community, and are informed by evidence to prevent and reduce alcohol and other drug-related harms.