Baby Boomers revealed to be biggest drinkers in new report

Most people would tell you hard-partying young people are the biggest drinkers but that’s because they haven’t read this article yet.

Baby Boomers are drinking more than any other generation of Australians, according to data from an organisation helping people who want to change their relationship with alcohol.

A survey on behalf of Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) asked more than 1250 Australians about their drinking habits in September, and found people aged 65-74 were drinking more than double the amount younger Australians were.

Gen Zers had the lowest weekly alcohol consumption of all, while Millennials were less likely to drink every day than people aged over 55, who were eight times more likely.

Hello Sunday Morning CEO Andy Moore said the survey showed the importance of alcohol support networks, like the organisation’s Daybreak app.

“Our app offers support from an online community of all ages and genders, and with nearly 60,000 Australians having used the free app-based program since 2016, it is accessible to anyone with a smartphone and available wherever and whenever someone wishes to seek help,” Mr Moore said.

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Drinkers by type. Picture: Hello Sunday Morning

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The survey also confirmed what a lot of people think and what previous research has also demonstrated – men are bigger drinkers and are more stupid about it too.

One in five men aged between 65-74 reported consuming more than an average of 31.5 standard drinks in a 7-day period, placing them in what HSM calls the “very high risk” category.

When women in the same age category are factored in, the percentage in the very high risk category drops to 15 per cent, but that’s still almost double the average across all age groups (8 per cent, the same percentage as people who drink every day).

45 per cent of men also thought you would still be fine to drive if you only drank one standard drink an hour, which HSM called a “dangerous misconception”.

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Men are more likely to drink to distract themselves from their problems.

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More concerning than how much more men were drinking was why they were doing it.

Almost half (44 per cent) of very high risk male drinkers reported they felt depressed.

Men are also way less likely to do anything about that.

31 per cent of very high risk male drinkers also said they found it hard to talk to a GP, let alone a therapist.

Younger people reported drinking less — and even younger people could have an impact on some people’s drinking.

One in four parents with kids at home reported feeling guilty about their drinking.

Young people might be perceived as drinking more and partying harder but the survey data paints an opposite picture.

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Young women aged between 18-24 reported drinking an average of only four standard drinks a week, despite a hard-drinking reputation they clearly haven’t earned. Picture: iStock

Not only do young people drink less, they’re also way more likely to feel pressured to drink, more likely to feel bad about it, and more likely to take action too.

Of 339 drinkers aged between 18 and 34, 17 per cent said they’d sought advice or help for their drinking compared to just one per cent of people aged over 55 (which is around three people in the group of 311 respondents).

More than one in five (22 per cent) in the younger group said they’ve “gotten violent on alcohol before” while only two per cent of the 55+ group confessed to the same.

More than a quarter (26 per cent) of the younger group said they’d taken a sickie due to being hungover before, while only 5 per cent of 55+ respondents said they had.

The data is self-reported so it’s possible those aged over 55 are simply lying or don’t remember.