For many of us with a few grey hairs, an evening pint or relaxing glass of vino is a cherished ritual, but what's begun as a social pleasure has quietly drifted into a daily necessity (often behind closed doors).
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It might feel harmless, like a way to unwind or combat the feeling of loneliness, but there's too many impacts to ignore - from various cancers, to landing in hospital, and the silent acceleration of chronic health issues.
"Alcohol has become less of a normative practice for young people, but habitual alcohol use is still common for middle aged and older Australians," said Dr Amy Pennay, Deputy Director of the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at La Trobe University.
"It's been an entrenched part of their social lives throughout their generation.
"Drinking in older age is also habitual - as opposed to episodic - and it's very hard to shift habits."
The latest alarming statistics reveal the cumulative effects of drinking alcohol become deadlier as you age.
Researchers from La Trobe University looked at 70 years of national mortality, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and health-expenditure data, with the strongest alcohol-related cancer impacts seen in people aged 50 or older.
Published in the British Journal of Cancer, the study said that long-term alcohol exposure was a causal factor in:
- Some 45 per cent of male upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancer deaths
- About 21 per cent of female UADT cancer deaths
- About 48 per cent of male liver cancer deaths
- About 15 per cent of male colorectal cancer deaths and 4% for females
- 14 per cent of female breast cancer deaths
The study said by reducing population-wide drinking through proven policies such as alcohol taxation, regulating availability and limiting advertising could mean substantial reductions in cancer deaths.
In 2025, 50 to 70-year-olds were heavier drinkers than those aged above 70, Dr Pennay said, but noted 30 to 50-year-old are heavier drinkers again.
"It will be interesting to see what happens when Gen X gets to 70+," she said.
"Nevertheless, there are a range of strategies that can help."
Currently the World Health Organisation (WHO) states there is no level of alcohol consumption that is safe for risk of cancer.
Circuit Breakers: Small changes to break the habit.
Dr Pennay's strategies to slow down:
Drink a non-alcoholic beer/alcohol (water, soda, 0% beer),
Drink a non-alcoholic drink between each beer/wine,
Nominate a number of drinks you might have and sticking to it,
Being honest with friends about your drinking goals so they can help you stick to it.
Is it menopause or merlot?
For years, Kelly* thought her shaking hands, night sweats, anxiety and back pain were just part of menopause (also symptoms of alcoholism), so she continued to drink at home "safely" out of the public eye.
But her life became a battle ground, a "daily drunk" with seemingly no way out.
Now at 16.5 years sober she hasn't looked back, having found a "community" of people just like her.
"I don't feel like I've lost anything anything, I've actually gained me," she told The Senior proudly.
"It's kind of like alcohol is the solution to our life problems ... we think that the only way we can deal with and cope with life [is to drink]. It takes a lot of courage to walk across that, to admit you have a problem with it, that it's causing a lot of unmanageability in your life."
Her community at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) includes binge drinkers and daily drinkers but "it doesn't really matter," Kelly said, as everyone wants each other to succeed.
"I actually like who I am today, you know, I'm a useful member of society," she said. "I have a family that wants to be with me and we have a great relationship."
What else could you do with that $1,770?
The mean spending on alcohol across all households in Australia in 2023 was $1,770, or $34 per week, government data shows.
That equates to a holiday, a new appliance, or it could boost to your savings account.
The short-term effects of relaxation and reduced inhibitions induced by drinking are tiny when compared to the long-term side-effects:
- Alcohol was responsible for 4.1 per cent of total burden of disease and injury in Australia in 2024 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data revealed).
- The past decade's seen a tripling of alcohol-related hospitalisations in people over 65, according to the Monash Addiction Research Centre.
- Alcohol has more immediate side effects like falls and accidents, disrupted sleep, anxiety, hangovers, risky or violent behaviour, memory loss (or blackouts) and alcohol poisoning.
- Alcohol increases the risk of developing brain damage and dementia, multiple different cancers (like oral, throat, prostate and breast cancer), liver cirrhosis, forms of heart disease and stroke.
John's story
Retiree John* said on the outside nothing looked "out of control" despite drinking every evening (mostly alone at home), but he began noticing sleep disruptions, anxiety, regret, memory lapses and mounting health issues.
The problem was John thought he was "too old to change" and became resided on the fact this is how his life would end.
It wasn't until he endured a dramatic crash that pushed him to attend an AA meeting, after a doctor quietly noted if he kept drinking this way, John's decline would slowly "accelerate".
More than 60 of AA members are aged over 50, while regional involvement continues to grow with 27.5 per cent of members living outside our major cities up from 22.2 per cent in 2022). Most members report no barriers to attending meetings, their November member survey found.
For the uber shy, there is online chat available at the AA website while some meetings can be done online via Zoom (no account required and no need to speak or turn your camera on).
* Names have been changed for anonymity
Do you need help? Is your drinking risky?
AA members often recognize themselves through patterns such as:
Drinking more or longer than intended
Repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut down or stop
Obsession with drinking (thinking about it when not drinking)
Using alcohol to change how they feel emotionally
Continuing to drink even when it causes health, relationship, or work problems
AA members often recognize themselves through patterns such as:
Drinking more or longer than intended
Repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut down or stop
Obsession with drinking (thinking about it when not drinking)
Using alcohol to change how they feel emotionally
Continuing to drink even when it causes health, relationship, or work problems
Source: Alcoholics Anonymous
Need help?
Desiree Savage
Editor of Australia's number one publication for over-50s, The Senior. Specialising in health, wealth and lifestyle. Got a hot tip? Email me on EDIT@TheSenior.com.au
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