More alcohol and cigarettes available for consumption

During the 2008 year, the total volume of alcoholic beverage available for consumption increased 3.4 percent, to reach 486.4 million litres, Statistics New Zealand said today. The number of cigarettes available for consumption was up 4.3 percent, to 2.5 billion in 2008.

This increase in cigarettes contrasts with a decrease in the amount of tobacco available for consumption, which was down 3.7 percent to 870 tonnes in 2008.

The increased total volume of alcoholic beverage available was driven by an increased volume of beer, with smaller increases in wine and spirits. Beer is still the most popular type of alcoholic beverage in New Zealand. In 2008, there were 322.5 million litres of beer available, which makes up 66.3 percent of the total beverage available for consumption.

Spirits and spirit-based drinks now represent 14.3 percent of the total alcoholic beverage available for consumption, continuing the steady increase since 1996. For 2008, the proportions for beer and wine both decreased slightly.

The volume of pure alcohol available per person aged 15 years and over increased 3.3 percent from 2007, to reach 9.5 litres in 2008. This is the highest volume since 1994.