Australian media shines spotlight on illicit alcohol

Illicit alcohol was a hot topic in the media following the release of NDARC and NDRI’s collaborative study in Drug and Alcohol Review that found Australian’s may be unknowingly drinking contaminated spirits. Between the paper’s release on 19 May 2026 and 1 June 2026, there were more than 200 media mentions of the topic with an accumulative audience reach of 215 million across Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Europe.

Titled 'Illicit alcohol in Victorian off-licence retailers: A preliminary observational study’, the paper revealed that illicit bottles of vodka are being sold – often at a cheaper price point than competitor products – in breach of regulations. The story drew widespread media attention across radio, television and digital and print outlets.

Highlights included:

• • ABC Radio National's AM program, listen here
  • 7 News midday bulletin (live in-studio interview), watch here
  • 9 News online and evening news bulletin, see here
  • Herald Sun front page on 19 May 2026.

Further Reading:

• The full media release is available here.
• In February this year, Dr Kowalski and Dr Taylor convened the illicit alcohol roundtable to address this emerging illicit market. You can read more about the event here.
• Opinion: Illicit Alcohol is an issue of market surveillance. Read it here. 
• View the study here.

In this issue