Kiwis get 'gold medal for hazardous drinking', alcohol researcher says

New Zealanders over 50 get the gold medal for hazardous drinking when compared with eight other countries, an alcohol researcher says.

Massey University professor Andy Towers told Checkpoint as many as 40 percent of over-50s in New Zealand would be classed as hazardous drinkers.

That came from research his team conducted which also compared the drinking habits of New Zealanders over 50 with those from eight comparable countries including the US, England, South Africa and China.

"Kiwis basically got the gold medal for hazardous drinking. We were more likely to drink on more days a week than any other country and when we consumed alcohol we had much more on a single occasion," he said.

"About 16 percent of people in this age bracket ... about 16 percent of them binged every time they drunk and it could be once a month or it could be three times a week."

Part of the problem could be that what people considered a standard drink varied a lot.

Under current guidelines for low-risk drinking, one standard drink was 100ml of wine, for example, about seven and a half glasses a bottle.

"When you drink at home they actually pour very often double or triple what we might call a standard drink. So if they saying they're drinking within the guidelines of maybe 12 drinks a week, it might be if you looked at them and measured them against a standard for New Zealand, they might be drinking 20," he said.

"So, we know that Kiwis underestimate their drinking and we know also, internationally, we tend to be drinking more than a lot of OECD counterparts."

Towers said the country's low-risk drinking guidelines needed to be updated from the current 15 standard drinks for men a week (with no more than five at a time) and 10 a week for women (with no more than four at a time).

They were out of date and too high, he said.

The guidelines were set in 2011 and based on research that, at the time, said there were some health benefits from drinking a small amount of alcohol, Towers said.

But that was no longer the case, with many health bodies now saying there was no safe level of alcohol consumption.

The Cancer Society says alcohol is a risk factor in a least seven cancers and is the cause of about five percent of all cancers.

Tower said it was time for the official safe consumption limit to be lowered.

The Ministry of Health told Checkpoint it was updating the guidance and had already completed the first phase.

It was now moving into the final phase.

"The specific process and timeline for this work is still being finalised. New guidance is expected to be published in 2027 as detailed in the Cancer Action Plan. It will include engagement with the public," a spokesperson said.

Towers said the alcohol industry should not be allowed to submit on the proposed changes.

"You do not let the wolves run the hen house," he said.

But the public should be allowed to have their say on the expert advice, he said.

Executive director of NZ Alcohol Beverages Council Virginia Nicholls said Towers did not differentiate between moderate and harmful consumption.

"This "all-or-nothing" approach is a gross over-simplification of the scientific evidence, which supports the distinction between moderate and harmful drinking."

She said the council welcomed a review based "in a transparent, systematic evidence review".

Nicholls also said adult Kiwis are drinking less than previous generations, with five out of six drinking responsibly, an increase of 22 percent since 2020.

When it came to binge drinking she said NZ was sitting at 17.5 percent which was lower than other OECD countries but it was still "too high".

She said it was up to policy makers to assess the information they received and then make recommendations to government on any regulations but consultation was a fundamental right.