A recent report found drug and alcohol deaths in regional Australia has hit an all time high, increasing by 41 per cent in a decade to 2017. This is in contrast to the 16 per cent spike in major cities. Although researchers attribute most of these to opiod overdoses, alcohol is also playing a role.
The report also found a rise in the rate of people seeking help for drugs and alcohol problems in remote communities between 2016 and 2017. These people were likely to travel one hour or more to receive to treatment.
The report also revealed people in remote and regional areas are more likely to smoke, drink heavily, use drugs and avoid exercise.