For the first time in a long time, young Australians are drinking less than older generations. This, in turn, has driven an increase in non-alcoholic drink sales and a decline in traditional liquor sales. So what’s behind alcohol losing its appeal? And what are young Aussies drinking instead?
Dr Amy Pennay is the deputy director of the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR) at La Trobe University in Melbourne. Within CAPR, she is the strategic lead of the 'Intersections of drinking cultures, health, and policy' program. Amy has published more than 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, eight book chapters, four conversation pieces, and 25 research reports and has presented at 35 conferences. She collaborates with researchers across Australia and internationally to investigate cultural and social influences on drinking and health outcomes.
Dr Tina Lam is a senior research fellow at the Monash Addiction Research Centre (MARC) and a World Health Organization consultant. Dr Lam’s influential alcohol research programme on risky drinking in Australian adolescents, who are underrepresented in mainstream surveys but overrepresented in risk of harm, has been recognised through citation in the Commonwealth’s National Alcohol Strategy 2019-2028. Dr Lam led this alcohol program and, together with collaborators from research centres from all jurisdictions of Australia, published 10 peer-reviewed papers on topics such as alcohol’s harms to others, insomnia amongst risky drinkers, alcohol advertising, pre-drinking, and policy support.
Evan E. Lambert is a journalist, travel writer, essayist, and short fiction writer with bylines at Thought Catalog, Business Insider, Mic, People, Queerty, BuzzFeed, Going, The Discoverer, and many more. You can check out his other work at https://evanlambert.journoportfolio.com/.
