ALMOST every murder committed in Queensland during the past year was suspected to involve alcohol, crime statistics show.
It comes as police investigate a death at a park in Cairns at the weekend, which is also believed to be alcohol-related.
Homicides were up to 56 in 2009-10 compared with 49 the previous year, and only six did not involve alcohol or drugs.
The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre said Australians were among the world's worst abusers of alcohol, with few seeking help to curb its impact on their health.
Research shows almost one in five will experience problematic drinking, while 4 per cent become alcoholics.
"One reason for the lack of treatment is that alcohol problems still have a terrible stigma about them," researcher Professor Maree Teesson said.
"People are much less likely to want to own up to a problem with alcohol than they are about other physical or mental illness yet their abuse of alcohol has serious consequences."
These included fights, licence suspensions, taking time off work, child neglect and getting into trouble with the police.
Prof Teesson and fellow researchers analysed data collected from almost 9000 Australians aged 16 to 85 for the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing in 2007.
She said most were young men but very few would seek any form of professional help.
The snapshot of alcohol disorder and dependence showed that a third of Australian men would have a drinking problem at some point in their lives – about double the rate of alcohol abuse among women.
Married people and those from a non-English-speaking background were less likely to have a problem with alcohol.
Men born during the 10 years to 1987 were 1.7 times more likely to drink at risky levels than men born the previous decade.
More than 40 per cent of those with alcohol problems also reported a mental illness, while comparison with a similar study done 10 years ago showed no improvement.
"Alcohol problems are most common in young men, so we need better strategies for young Australians," Prof Teesson said.
Additional reporting AAP
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