A major new analysis has laid bare the health burden booze is causing in New Zealand, with its role in hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of hospital cases.

An advocacy group says it is also “frightening” alcohol was implicated in nearly 129,000 ACC claims over the year captured by the new Otago University-led stocktake.

• A new study found alcohol caused over 900 deaths and 29,282 hospitalisations in 2018.
• Alcohol was linked to nearly 129,000 ACC claims and $9.1 billion in harm costs.
• The rate of alcohol-attributed deaths was twice as high for Māori.

In June, a Ministry of Health-commissioned report estimated the cost of alcohol harm at around $9.1 billion - half of it due to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) alone.

Now, the first national study of its kind in more than a decade has teased out its impact on a wide range of health conditions and diseases.

It found in 2018, just over 900 deaths, along with 29,282 hospitalisations and 128,963 ACC claims were attributable to alcohol.

About 42 per cent of deaths were from cancer, with another 33 per cent from injuries and the rest stemming from conditions liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis and epilepsy.

Men accounted for the vast bulk of health harm – and the rate of alcohol-attributed deaths was twice as high for Māori.

“The findings aren’t surprising – previous research, both here and overseas, has consistently shown alcohol contributes significantly to disease burden,” study co-author Dr Anja Mizdrak of Otago’s Department of Public Health says.

“This research shows that alcohol continues to have a big negative impact on health in New Zealand and contributes to inequities.”

Anja says the new data, covering the over-15 population, did not paint a full picture.

“For example, we don’t capture harms to those injured by drink-driving who weren’t under the influence of alcohol or the knock-on impacts from the extra pressure on the health system.”

And while the study was a snapshot from 2018, she expected the results would be similar today.

“Alcohol has a detrimental effect on health and contributes to injuries and multiple cancers – including some of the most common cancers like breast and bowel cancer.”

The report set out several policy options to better tackle the burden, including restrictions on booze marketing and availability, introducing new national screening and intervention programmes - and a higher excise tax.

Otago University health researcher Anja Mizdrak. Photo: NZME.

While the Government recently agreed to raise the alcohol levy for the first time since 2009, critics were quick to point out the lift was tiny when compared to the cost of alcohol harm.

“There is a lot we can do to reduce the harm that alcohol does in our communities,” Anja says.

“The large social and economic impacts on individuals and the Government, and the pressure that alcohol places on our already stretched health system should give us reason to act.”

Alcohol Healthwatch executive director Andrew Galloway was not surprised by the key findings.

“Alcohol is our most harmful drug, and its social and economic cost was recently estimated at $9.1b - so it’s a big deal.”

Galloway described the number of alcohol-linked ACC claims in the study as “frightening”.

“That’s a massive cost to New Zealand.”

Galloway says the Government could help ease what was a largely preventable burden by following measures taken by other countries, such as Scotland’s move to set minimum prices for alcoholic drinks.

So far, the Government has singled out alcohol as one of five factors that would need to be tackled in reducing the impact of diseases, but aside from addressing the causes of FASD, hasn’t yet detailed any potential reform.

Health authorities have meanwhile welcomed the findings.

“The study supports what our clinicians see on a regular basis and it’s important that there is a greater level of awareness of the burden that alcohol does place on the health system,” National Public Health Service director Dr Nick Chamberlain says.

Alcohol Beverages Council executive director Virginia Nicholls says NZ Health Survey data showed more than 80 per cent of Kiwi adults drank responsibly, and rates of hazardous drinking were falling over time.

She says the pan-industry group didn’t support population-wide policies that resulted in higher prices and instead favoured targeted measures.

“These measures should prioritise the individuals who need the most help without negatively impacting the majority of moderate drinkers who consume alcohol responsibly.”