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Is New Zealand's consumption of alcohol increasing? Is greater harm arising from that consumption? And are there increasing adverse affects from alcohol on New Zealand society? Media commentary would suggest that this is the case. However the reality is somewhat different. Following is a collection of 33 realities which put in to perspective where alcohol sits in New Zealand society today, and contextualises some of the research data available following a research review/project conducted in 2008. Each reality is supported by the source data, the realities and context speak for themselves.

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1. Reality: Currently we are drinking about the same amount of alcohol as we did in 1978 - and consumption is lower than it has been at other times in the past 40 years. More....
Myth: Alcohol consumption is rising in New Zealand and has been for decades.

2. Reality: After almost 30 years of alcohol advertising on television, consumption is unchanged. More....
Myth: Alcohol consumption in New Zealand has gone up since liquor advertising was permitted.

3. Reality: The number of places to buy alcohol has more than doubled in the past 20 years, but consumption is unchanged. More....
Myth: Alcohol consumption in New Zealand has gone up since liquor licensing was liberalised because it’s easier to buy.

4. Reality: Alcohol prices have actually increased, mainly due to Government taxes, and this may have contributed to people drinking less. More....
Myth: Alcohol consumption in New Zealand has gone up because it is cheaper.

5. Reality: Alcohol related offences have dropped 13% in the past 10 years. More....
Myth: Alcohol-related offences have increased dramatically over the past 10 years.

6. Reality: More than two thirds of alcohol is consumed at home or at friends’ places, not on licensed premises. More....
Myth: Most alcohol is consumed in bars and clubs.

7. Reality: People stay at home to get drunk. Licensed premises are the only places where you will be served an accurate “standard serve” drink, and where it is illegal for you to get drunk. At home and in public people drink more, and more heavily, and are allowed to be drunk. More....
Myth: Bars and clubs are bad because people go there to get drunk.

8. Reality: Public Health Officials say four and a half cans of beer is a binge so almost a third of us are binging, but New Zealanders say ten cans of beer is a binge, and only 9% of us did that in our last drinking session. More....
Myth: New Zealanders are binge drinkers.

9. Reality: By international comparison, New Zealand has a moderate alcohol consumption – we drink less than France, but a little more than Australia. More....
Myth: New Zealanders drink too much.

10. Reality: New Zealand is internationally recognised as one of the few nations finding solutions to excessive alcohol consumption. More....
Myth: New Zealand is doing nothing about excessive drinking.

11. Reality: Alcohol is involved in less than 1% of all deaths, and alcohol-related harm is so broadly defined that it includes hangovers and arguments. More....
Myth: Alcohol-related deaths and maiming are extraordinarily high.

12. Reality: Pakeha are bigger drinkers than Maori or Pacific Islanders. More....
Myth: Maori and Pacific Islanders are bigger drinkers than non-Maori/non-Pacific Island drinkers.

13. Reality: Only 12% of people under 24 get drunk every week. More....
Myth: Young people drink all the time.

14. Reality: More than two thirds of underage drinkers are given alcohol from parents or friends. More....
Myth: Most underage drinkers get their alcohol from liquor outlets.

15. Reality: Out of the 15,000 places young people could try to buy alcohol, there were only 193 prosecutions for selling alcohol to minors in 2008. More....
Myth: It is really easy for underage drinkers to buy alcohol.

16. Reality: 65% of young people drink beer and wine, not alcopops. More....
Myth: Alcopops are the major cause of harm amongst young people.

17. Reality: 97% of under 29 year olds are not drunk drivers – but the 3% who do drink and drive make up 35% of all drunk drivers. More....
Myth: The drink driving issue is caused by young people.

18. Reality: The number of young people hospitalised by incidents involving alcohol has decreased since the age of purchase was lowered. More....
Myth: The harm to young people has increased significantly since the age of alcohol purchase was set at 18.

19. Reality: 18 is just the age at which you can legally purchase. You can legally drink alcohol at any age. More....
Myth: It is illegal for people under 18 to drink alcohol (the “drinking age” is 18).

20. Reality: The number of young people who are drinking fell by 16% after the purchase age was lowered. More....
Myth: Lowering the age of purchase has increased the number of young people drinking.

21. Reality: In 1997 34% of young people drank more than five glasses in one session, in 2003, this figure dropped to 23%. More....
Myth: Lowering the age of purchase has increased the number of young people binge drinking.

22. Reality: Alcohol-related crime and violence has decreased - the number of recorded drugs and antisocial offences has fallen by 8.5%. More....
Myth: Since the age of purchase was lowered, alcohol-related crime and violence has increased.

23. Reality: Liquor advertising and promotions try to attract people to brands. There is no need to encourage people to drink alcohol, and strict regulations prevent alcohol producers from targeting people under 25 years old. More....
Myth: Liquor advertising and promotions are aimed at young people to encourage them to drink.

24. Reality: Alcohol advertisements account for just 4% of all complaints. More....
Myth: Alcohol advertisements attract the most complaints.

25. Reality: There is no evidence that alcohol sponsorship increases alcohol consumption. More....
Myth: Liquor companies use promotions and sponsorship to get people to drink more.

26. Reality: It is illegal for bars and pubs to let people get drunk, and it is closely watched by police – there were only 87 convictions for it in 2007, out of 15,000 bars and clubs. More....
Myth: Bars and pubs are only interested in getting people drunk.

27. Reality: More than two thirds of New Zealanders drink at home and buy alcohol from off-licenses not bars, pubs or restaurants. More....
Myth: Most alcohol is sold and consumed in bars, pubs and restaurants.

28. Reality: Sale of Liquor Act breaches by licensed premises are less than 4% of all alcohol convictions. More....
Myth: Lots of bars, pubs and clubs are not obeying the Sale of Liquor Act.

29. Reality: Alcohol is a factor in less than a third of road accidents, and casualites have declined from 328 in 1986 to 128 in 2007. More....
Myth: Alcohol is to blame for most road accidents.

30. Reality: Road deaths and casualities from alcohol related accidents have more than halved in the past 20 years. More....
Myth: Road deaths from alcohol are not improving.

31. Reality: A glass of wine while you are pregnant is extremely unlikely to affect the foetus. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is rare because it appears to be caused by mothers who combine drugs, smoking, alcohol and poor diet. Fewer than 0.1% of all babies born are diagnosed with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. More....
Myth: Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is a real risk for women.

32. Reality: The results of prohibition and shorter opening hours show that alcohol consumption cannot be stopped – and severe restrictions cause even more social problems. More....
Myth: Shorter opening hours result in less alcohol-related problems.

33. Reality: Only one third of alleged offenders were drinking in a bar before they were arrested by police. It is illegal to be drunk in a bar but not in a public place, so people get drunk before and after being in licensed premises, but not in the licensed premise itself. In 2007 there were 183 prosecutions for drinking in bars and clubs, but 9000 for drinking in public places. More....
Myth: Alcohol problems on the streets come from people drinking in bars.

Information was extracted in November 2008. Please note that this data is provisional and drawn from a dynamic operational database. It is subject to change as new data is continually recorded. Provisional data cannot reliably be compared to official statistics. As Alco-link information is gained from persons who have been consuming alcohol prior to coming to Police attention, it is not used as the basis for a prosecution.